


A Gift for The Emperor

by lastmouseleft



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Desire, Emperor Kylo Ren, F/M, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Intrigue, Love/Hate, Manipulation, Obsession, POV Multiple
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2018-08-30 05:50:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 18
Words: 76,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8520877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastmouseleft/pseuds/lastmouseleft
Summary: Kylo Ren has finally everything he ever wanted. He is the leader of a new empire. Snoke and The Resistance are no more and even his former opponent, Rey, was captured by pirates and offered to him as a gift. Nothing should stand in his way in bending the galaxy to his will. Yet, things prove more frustrating than expected. He struggles to impose his political domination and Rey has been acting oddly docile. Is she pretending or did the Jedi really change that much?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, hello wonderful readers! This story was originally supposed to be part of the Reylo Sin Anthology (which was released some weeks ago and is truly wonderful. I encourage you to read it! Read it! Read it!), but I got sick and couldn't finish on time. That gave me the opportunity to expand it and work futher on some details, though. 
> 
> I am very excited to finally share it with you. I really hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> I wanted to dedicate this story to CoraRiley because she is a true inspiration and an overall wonderful human being (and she writes fantastic Reylo fiction. You should totally read her stories! Read them! Read them! XD).

 

“Have you heard? The emperor is losing his mind!” whispered the laundresses, afraid that if they were to be caught gossiping they would know punishment they even feared to imagine.

“ Wasn’t he already mad?

\- Well…Yes, but since that Jedi girl arrived, his temper has become even more incontrollable, his anger even more extreme. I heard that the handymen have to work nearly every day to repair all the damage he keeps causing during his outbursts.

\- He _is_ scary!

\- It’s a wonder why this girl affects him so much? I was there when those pirates first brought her to the palace, and I must say, for the warrior she’s supposed to be, she seemed very quiet and harmless.

\- Really? Say, how did she look like?

\- When her captors brought her to the great hall, she was covered head to toe, her face hidden behind a white veil. She somewhat looked like a bride, but not quite. The emperor himself descended from his throne to remove the cover away from her face. I was a bit disappointed.

\- Really? How? Was she ugly?

\- No, it’s not that. She is beautiful. I was expecting her to be more impressive, though. And she turned out to be …meek. She kept her eyes on the floor the whole time and talked in a quiet voice that the audience could barely hear. She was nothing like I imagined a Jedi warrior would be.

\- That maybe proves that the time of the Jedi is really over. Why do they keep her in here, anyway, I wonder”.

The servants didn’t notice that a man was eavesdropping on their little conversation. General Hux had ears everywhere, and in addition to his countless spies, he excelled at sneaking on unsuspecting gossipers, quite often the precious sources of information.

When the subject of the discussion passed to more trivial matters, General Hux continued on his way towards the Emperor’s quarters.

His typically disdainful expression was even more noticeable today. When he got to the monumental red door that led to the private rooms of the emperor, he asked in an annoyed voice the two guards standing there to announce him. One of them obeyed diligently and through an intercom on the wall informed of the arrival of the general.

The door opened wide and revealed a big hall full of columns. The walls were covered in deep blue and golden fabric and were decorated with enormous abstract paintings (that’s how the new emperor preferred them). Apart from some chairs at the back, it was barely furnished. There were doors, though, barely distinguishable from the walls, which led to the imperial rooms or to corridors leading directly to other parts of the palace. The hall was truly a vestibule where Hux was used -yet hated- to wait. There always was that discomforting silence that made him tap his feet nervously.

This time, it took merely a few seconds before he heard the unmistakable sound of Kylo Ren’s footsteps, fierce and arrogant like a bull. A door sled open and the hulking and masked figure of the emperor emerged.

“Hux! You are late!” he roared, slamming the door behind him with the force.

He was in a bad disposition. Having none of that, Hux cut directly to the chase:

“Is something bothering you? Does it have to do with the Jedi, My Lord”?

He might have come to accept that Ren, his former rival, was now the new emperor, having to call him “my lord” made Hux’s stomach turn. He never could say it right, a hint of irony always finding its way in his tone.

The emperor breathed heavily. Of course, it was the girl! It has been his principal problem since she had arrived a few days ago.

“She is not acting like herself! She persists on being obedient and quiet. I no longer know what to do with her!” he burst in a rare admission of helplessness.

“The Jedi’s behaviour has been quite curious. Although, however odd, it is useful to us. She is the living proof that the Jedi order is definitely vanquished. Isn’t that the main reason why you keep her in the palace”?

Though reasonable, Hux’ words infuriate the emperor:

“When those pirates brought her to me, I wasn’t aware that they had tempered with her. They took the initiative to break her spirits, they said, so she would be easier to control. I would have choked all of them on the spot if you didn’t stop me…

\- My Lord, we _need_ the pirates on our side. For a young empire like ours, it is essential to…”

Kylo Ren quieted him with a blunt hand gesture and continued: “She is nothing like the girl I fought for years. Where is the fire that used to burn in her eyes when our sabers crossed? Where did all that energy, all the strength go? And you know the worst thing? I think she is doing it on purpose. She is hiding her true nature!”

Hux recalled the servant’s exchange he caught earlier. Maybe they were right; maybe the emperor was going mad...or at least growing even more paranoid.

“What about the force?” asked the general.

“What about it?

\- Did you use the force to discover her true intentions?

\- I… I did try. I reached for her, and without any resistance, she let me dive into her mind. I only found fear, sadness and…resignation. However, she has been trained in controlling her thoughts and could easily be deceiving me.

\- Hum! Knowing her reputation, one would have expected her to prove a bit more reluctant to accept her situation. Moreover, it is very odd to think that a band of pirates succeed so easily in breaking a Jedi spirits. I’d have thought she’d be more resilient.

\- Exactly! She is a survivor. She is powerful. Yet, she would surrender without resisting? This is far too easy”!

General Hux kept quite a few seconds until an idea sprang into his mind: “What if that’s her way of resisting?”

Even behind his mask, Hux figured that his words had caught Ren’s full attention.

“You are right, My Lord. She could be hiding her true nature and purposefully assuming a submissive attitude. Could she be planning something”?

Kylo Ren started walking around the hall, his arms crossed behind his back.

“She might be planning to kill me!” he conceded, the enthusiasm in his voice unfitting to the implications of his discovery.

“If there’s the slightest possibility she is plotting an assassination, we have to remove her from the palace immediately! She might be no longer a warrior, but her training keeps her dangerous”.

The emperor burst into a wild laughter that startled the general.

“Absolutely not! Keep her here. In fact, bring her to me this evening. If she is hiding, I will find her, I will make her come out and show her true face. Oh, this is going to be so much fun!”

The emperor seemed delighted and General Hux wondered what would be worst for him: dealing with an insane emperor or a dead emperor.

_________________________________________

The three handmaidens assigned to Rey’s service really liked their new mistress. She was nice and far from demanding. She always thanked them for what they did whatever mundane the task was, which never failed to make them smile or giggle in delight.

She was also very secretive and talked very rarely. She often seemed sad and they hated seeing her like that. The girls thought it was quite normal since she had lost her freedom but they sensed that it was actually because she was mourning the loss of her friends who apparently all died during the war. They knew that they were dangerous rebels and that Rey was one of them, yet they still felt sympathy for her.

It was on the occasions when the emperor summoned Rey that the handmaidens had to really burst into action. They prepared her by bathing her, clothing her, making her up and styling her hair. Although she didn’t seem to care for any of that, she usually complied without any fuss, making her the perfect doll to play with.

Tania, Sana and Lyn loved preparing Rey. They always tried to make the process fun for her as well, telling her funny stories and the latest palace gossip. When they were done, their hearts swelled each time with pride at how lovely she looked. Rey didn’t have the kind of showy physique or attitude. She was rather delicate and her beauty was fresh and heartwarming. And, to her handmaidens, she was truly the prettiest.

At first, when she arrived at the palace, Rey was called for quite often by the emperor but that didn’t last long. It was obvious that she quickly lost his favours.

She used to be invited to all the ceremonies and the banquets, apparently to be shown to the guests like a war trophy. Sometimes, the emperor asked to see her privately, too. However, that never ended well. Every time he met with Rey, he apparently ended up bursting into a rage. The Handmaidens couldn’t imagine how such a sweet person would cause him so much anger. Sana, always the cheeky one, suggested that it was probably because their mistress refused to give herself to him. If she was truly rejecting the emperor’s advances, she would be deserving of their admiration, indeed. Was such a thing even possible?

When they were told that Rey was to meet Lord Kylo Ren that evening, joy spread among them. They missed taking care of her. Lyn went to Rey’s room to wake her up. The former Jedi usually slept a great deal during the day, having very little to keep her occupied. The handmaiden found her awake, though, sitting quietly in a corner of the room. The girl, although ignorant of Jedi meditation, was mesmerised by the serene look on Rey’s face and wouldn’t dare to disturb her. Despite her best effort, Rey sensed her presence and opened her eyes slowly while a faint smile appeared on her lips:

“I am to see the emperor, am I not?” she asked the servant who nodded, seemingly embarrassed that she might have interrupted Rey during a mysterious Jedi exercise.

“Thank you, Lyn. I will be there in a second”.

The handmaiden existed the small room that was Rey’s. She had been able to choose it herself, a rare privilege that the emperor bestowed upon her. A small white space with few furnisher or decorations, contrasting with the rest of the sumptuous palace. She liked it because it had a big window that allowed her admire the magnificent view that was Naboo’s nature.

She got up slowly and went to join the handmaidens already prepared for her bath.

_________________________________________

It was Phasma who came to escort Rey to the emperor’s quarters. The tall blonde, now a general of the army, was usually very busy, but she was instructed by Kylo Ren to go get the former Jedi herself.

Truth be said  , she rather liked Rey. She found her discreet and respectful, qualities she valued in her soldiers but also in civilians. Therefore, she didn’t mind taking care of a trivial task such as escorting her.

Granting, the true reason the emperor asked her to do it was that he wanted her to observe Rey’s behaviour and report to him. Indeed, he asked that she’d watch her more closely henceforth. Ever the obedient soldier, Phasma acquiesced without arguing.

When she arrived at Rey’s chambers, the girl was ready and waiting. She greeted the general with a polite smile and followed her through the immense palace.

Phasma ventured a discreet look at Rey. The young woman kept silent and her eyes fixed on the floor. The general knew the reputation of this former enemy of the First Order, how fierce and determined she was supposed to be, the many defeats she had caused to her opponents. She struggled to picture this inoffensive girl as a ruthless warrior. However, she knew better than to judge a person by their appearance.

There was also a hint of sadness in Rey’s eyes than Phasma couldn’t fail to notice. The girl did lose most of her comrades earlier that year and the general could easily rely to that. Even if most of her subordinates believed her heartless, Phasma was always affected by the loss of each of them.

“Are you provided with all you need, Lady Rey?” she asked spontaneously, even though she habitually wasn’t one for conversation.

Lifting her head in surprise, it took Rey a few seconds before she smiled and answered:

“Oh yes!  Thank  you captain.

\- Actually, I am a general now, since Lord Ren’s ascension to the power.

\- Right. I am sorry, I forgot”.

Phasma knew that Rey had that habit of calling her “captain” because of FN-2187. He must have talked about her a lot to his comrades of the Resistance, and not in a very flattering way. Somehow, she didn’t really mind.

“Oh, you know! Captain or general, it is practically the same thing. You have to take care of a bunch of lazy clumsy kids”.

Rey laughed genuinely at Phasma’s uncharacteristic joke. The blonde woman gifted her back with a rare smile just before they arrived to their destination.

The imperial guards greeted General Phasma and Rey and the door slid open to let the two woman in.

When they got into the vestibule, the general pointed at one of the doors and told Rey that the emperor was waiting for her on the other side. As soon as Rey got to the door, it opened without her even signaling her presence. The general left without looking back.

_________________________________________

As soon as Rey sat foot on the carpeted floor of the oval room where he habitually meditated, Kylo Ren’s eyes flew open. He was surprised to see her wearing pink. She looked very feminine, almost girly, not at all the raging warrior he was used to fight.

Sitting on his knees at the center of the circular room, he lifted his hand to invite her to come closer. She hastily obeyed.

“Sit down Rey!” he ordered, pointing to the spot where he wanted her to be. She gathered her puffy skirts in her hands so she could sit in front of him. She looked hesitant and yet elegant, he thought, while she managed to find a comfortable position despite her unpractical clothes. She straightened her back and looked at him with apparent calm.

“Are you doing well, Rey?

\- Yes, My Lord”.

He could not decide if he liked the way she called him or if it annoyed him.

“Are you sure? You know you are a guest here, so you must tell me if you lack anything.

\- I have no reason to complain, My Lord”.

Kylo snorted derisively as he started to feel a bit irritated. That was typically how she talked to him since she arrived. She never spoke to him that way before. She never feared him. When they were fighting for opposite sides, she even used to be cocky. Even when she happened to be his prisoner, she never shied away from telling him exactly what she thought about him.

“Don’t you get bored sometimes?” he asked and it visibly surprised her.

“I...try to keep myself busy.

\- How?”

She hesitated but he didn’t give her any respite.

“Tell me!

 - I try to meditate.

\- Really? What else do you do?”

Rey daren’t answer and looked away. Kylo Ren knew perfectly well that it wasn’t up to her. She was practically a prisoner. She didn’t have the right to go outside or even to wander through the palace without escort. What kind of activities were she to have, when she was relegated to her small quarters, constantly watched. It was not like she were to learn embroidery. However different she acted now, she was definitely not that kind of girl.

She obviously refused to continue the pointless exchange.

Enticed by her reaction, Kylo Ren pressed further:

“You are a wild creature, Rey. You can’t make me believe that you are content when you have nothing to occupy your time.

\- I do with what I have, My Lord.

\- Enough !”

He smashed his fist into the floor, trembling with anger and startling Rey.

“I am giving you an opportunity here, Rey. An opportunity you’d better not waste if you don’t want to let yourself die of boredom. Because you should never forget that I can make sure you do”.

He breathed heavily, his jaw clenched, and stared at her so intensely she couldn’t divert her gaze.

“I want you to start training with me...every day”.

Rey’s eyelashes fluttered and though her mouth fell open, no answer came.

“I need a training partner who has the skills to challenge me”, Kylo Ren continued, his temper getting cooler now that he was able to destabilize Rey.

“Do you agree to join me in my training, Rey? Or will you refuse like you did in the past?”

It was a challenge. Rey seemed hesitant for a moment. She looked down and bit her lower lip, which nearly made Ren burst into one of his anger tantrums before she finally nodded: “As you wish, My Lord!”

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren is a frustrated man.

 

“No, Rey, no! You are not even trying!” shouted Kylo Ren, exasperated.

Rey was catching on her breath, leaning on her knees. She usually had more stamina, but weeks of inactivity affected her endurance.

Dressed up in matching black uniforms, they were alone in the immense training compound, usually frequented by the guards for their daily exercises. The emperor demanded to have it all to his own when he trained, refusing to be seen by his subordinates amidst the effort, sweating, panting, maskless. He allowed himself that kind of vulnerability only in the presence of the other Knights of Ren and now of Rey, his new training partner.

However, the former Jedi wasn’t proving to be a sufficient challenge.

“A few months out of practice and you already can’t stand a bit of effort?” he scolded her, circling around her, his mock saber in hand.

“Come at me, like you mean it!” he ordered and she nimbly executed an attack that he nonetheless countered too easily.

“You lack determination! Where is that energy you used to have when we fought? Where is your spirit, huh?”

Rey didn’t answer and instead tried to attack again a couple of times, but he kept dodging and counterattacking with very little effort. She seemed tired, unfocused and it further irritated him.

Ren ended up attacking her, pushing her through the training complex, hitting her lightly in the side when her guard went down, until she was compelled to let go of her training saber. She didn’t try to pick it up and instead rubbed her side where she had been hit.

“Is that it?” exclaimed Kylo Ren with obvious disappointment. “Are you giving up? This isn’t like you at all!

\- As you said, my lord: ‘I must be out of practice’”, she answered in a breathy voice, looking down at her feet as she often did in his presence since she arrived at the palace.

The emperor got closer to her, looking attentively at her face.

“No, that’s not it… You are hiding something! I know you do!” he declared with certainty.

“Hiding, My Lord?

\- Yes. You can’t make me believe that you have changed this much in so little time. You act as if you were a completely different person from the one I used to fight during the war.

\- I...I don’t know what to say, My Lord.

\- Why do you keep calling me that!

\- Calling you..?

\- ‘My Lord’! You used to call me by my name before. Why the change?

\- You _are_ the emperor now”, answered Rey, matter-of-factly.

 

They both fell silent. Rey wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and turned her head to the side with a resigned expression on her face. Kylo Ren contemplated her, hot air expelling noisily through his nostrils. He tried to read Rey’s features and resisted the desire to dive into her thoughts, as he feared to be further infuriated if his attempt was yet again fruitless.

While he examined her, he noticed how a sweat bead had formed on her forehead. When it got heavy enough, it started its descent, drawing a delicate shiny line on her cheek until it got to her chin and detached from her skin. He noted how long, and lean her throat was. It pulsed ever so slightly. Instinctively, he swallowed hard which quite surprised him and before he could give it a thought, he was forcing a cough and saying to Rey: “You obviously need more exercise. I will help you get back in shape before we can resume practicing saber combat”.

The girl seemed baffled but quickly nodded.

“Come back tomorrow, at the same time.

\- Yes, My…Lord!”

 As he noticed her hesitation, Kylo Ren decided not to comment on the matter and nodded while turning his back to Rey and heading to the changing-room.

____________________________

“Senators and their demands! Senators and their useless rules! I hate them and their cowardly tactics! They would do anything in their power to prevent real change from occuring! If I could I would do without them entirely!”

As General Hux listened to Kylo Ren go on about the imperial senate, yet again, he quirked his eyebrow and answered derisively: “As you well know, Lord Ren, I am not a big amateur of senates, parliaments or any form of political assembly. They are more a waste of time and energy than any super weapon ever built. However, that’s the thing: We can’t do without them, just yet. We need… The empire needs the support of the senate to reinforce its influence over the galaxy. At least until your rule is truly recognised”.

Kylo Ren growled in frustration. He clenched his hand so hard that his whole arm started trembling. General Hux, who was all too well familiar with the emperor’s tantrums, was glad that a whole desk separated them. Yet, he didn’t expect Kylo Ren’s temper to flare so fast this time.

The table was lifted through the air of the small and dark operations room, then smashed against the ceiling to fall in pieces on the floor in a big rumble.

The general tried to keep an air of calm but a piece that fell too close startled him, making him jump and hide his head under his arms. He might consider wearing a mask like the emperor, for security reasons.

“They want me to justify my decisions! I do not have to account to anyone! I am the emperor! Have they forgotten how I crushed The Resistance? Do they not fear me?

\- Perhaps they fear you too much, My Lord”.

Hux hated how his voice trembled when he spoke and he coughed and cracked his neck to regain some sort of composure before resuming: “They’re afraid you might be out of control and that...you might not know what you are doing.

\- Those fools! I am the only one who knows what he is doing. I have always fought to bring balance to the galaxy. Now that I am the emperor, I am doing my best to make the world a better place, deprived of chaos, of suffering. Yet, they refuse to understand. How can they be so narrow-minded?

\- If I may? There are always ways to persuade people. It just takes cunning and...patience”.

Kylo Ren tilted his head fixating Hux who smirked back in a very collusive way. That is exactly why he kept him alive, why he made him his main advisor, even if he hated his guts and often wanted to force-choke him back when they were both under the authority of Snoke. The man was brilliant and sly, just like an advisor to the emperor should be.

____________________________

Rey executed all the lightsaber forms perfectly. She truly was a talented student, mused Kylo Ren while he supervised her practice. She went, in very little time, from the scavenger who roughly knew how to hold a lightsaber, with a fighting style that lacked any finesse or strategy, to an elegant warrior who excelled at every movement. He felt a pang of jealousy when he realised that he could have been the one who trained her and cut the diamond out of the rough stone she used to be instead of his foolish hermit of an uncle. But, she had rejected his offer to become her teacher and her refusal still incensed him after all these years,

Despite the mastery she showed in the execution of the Jedi combat forms, Rey still lacked the ruthlessness he usually expected from her when they met at the battlefield.

“It feels like you are dancing! You execute all the forms with such ease.

\- Thank you, My Lord!” answered Rey, slightly embarrassed.

“But I don’t think that is all you can do! It feels to me that you are holding back.

\- What makes you think that?

\- I have never known you so focused, so passionless, Rey”.

As he spoke to her, he stepped closer until he was just a few centimeters shy of her and, with his index, he lifted her chin to force her to look at his face.

“You cannot hide from me forever. I will be patient, though. I will wait until you come out again. Won’t you come out and play, Rey?”

It sounded rather flirty to Kylo Ren’s own surprised ears.

Unexpectedly, Rey didn’t try to avoid his gaze. She looked at him right in the eyes and they stared at each other in silence.

The emperor had suddenly the desire to caress her lips with his thumb. He never truly noticed how pink and perfectly shaped they were. They trembled almost imperceptibly, betraying the nervousness that she felt, glistening under the dim lights as they were. A vision invaded his mind, of Rey wantonly sucking his finger into her mouth and humming with unabashed pleasure.

His breath caught in his lungs. This kind of lewd fantasies involving Rey kept tormenting him. He couldn’t look at her the same way anymore. Her body kept calling for him, begging for his touch, for his lips. It was undeniable, the pull that he felt towards her, just like The Force.

Just as quickly as it came, he chased the image from his brain and let go of Rey’s chin. He dreaded the possibility she might have known what went through his head and, as if he was running away, he took a few steps away from her.

“I will be away a few days”, he finally said after a long pause.

\- You will, My Lord?

\- Yes. I need to attend a voting session at the imperial senate. Then, if everything goes well, I will be travelling to the Outer Rim Territories”.

He was revealing too much to her. He was actually babbling and winced at the realisation. Nevertheless, he felt compelled to justify his absence for the next few days:

“I have to convince the senate about the importance of pacifying the Outer Rim. Order will never truly be restored in the galaxy if half of it remains under the influence of cartels and all sorts of crime lords”.

Rey didn’t comment on any of that. She just listened and nodded passively until Ren gave up on explaining. She obviously had no interest in his politics.

“If you wish to continue training, while I am gone, I will see to it that you have access to these training rooms every day.

\- Thank you, My Lord. I do appreciate it”.

The emperor smiled, seeing how much eagerer she was about the subject of training than politics. She apparently appreciated the activity, even if he forced it on her in the first place.

“Good! You are dismissed!”

____________________________

The trip to Coruscant didn’t live up to the emperor expectations. Still, it didn’t turn out to be the disaster he dreaded either.

The senate sessions Kylo Ren attended proved how much the imperial senators were inclined to prevaricate when they had to take important decisions. He had been there three days and the debate on whether an organised attack on the Outer Rim Territories was a good strategy didn’t progress one bit. It was pure torture to the former Knight of Ren to keep his temper under control while witnessing hours and hours of deliberation between such incompetent creatures claiming to decide if his ideas were worth executing.

However, during his stay, Hux introduced to him a group of senators who seemed quite sympathetic to his projects. They were a bunch of ambitious and opportunistic wolves, really - Kylo Ren immediately recognised them as such - but they had the potential to prove themselves very useful if they were to form the core of a new lobby of politicians dedicated to him and his vision.

Hux accompanied the emperor to Coruscant as long as a great number of officers and advisers, but the general was the only one to attend every senate session and reunion with him. When he asked him about the young group of senators, Hux encouraged Ren to reinforce his connection to them and thus strengthened the emperor’s resolve.

Kylo Ren decided to invite three of them to his palace, including Ysma Aki, the senator who acted like the leader of the group.

When it became evident that the senate wasn’t likely to pass any vote concerning the Outer Rim Territories any time soon, Kylo Ren decided to go back to Naboo. However, he left General Hux behind him so he can work on influencing and/or pressuring as many senators as he could.

____________________________

As soon as he sat foot on the palace, the first idea that came through Kylo Ren’s mind was that he wanted to see Rey again. He couldn’t explain why, but he was pushed by an urge that guided his steps towards her rooms as soon as he arrived, much to the surprise and dismay of the Palace’s staff.

When he approached her chambers, before anyone could warn her or her handmaidens, he heard a delicate laughter that he identified immediately as Rey’s. The sound, so joyful and unexpected, made his stomach contract. He felt a strange longing accompanied by a hint of frustration.

All of a sudden, he smashed the door open using The Force, surprizing the occupants of the room. The three handmaidens, who were sitting on the floor with Rey, enjoying a game of cards, jumped like startled animals and run to the corner of the room, assuming a servile position. While Rey, just as shaken as they were, remained seated and contemplated Kylo Ren with a look of shock.

“My Lord, you are back!” she stated the obvious before swallowing hard.

Was it his hasty return or the fact that he was in her rooms for the first time, and in such an unexpected way, that made Rey seem so very unnerved? For a moment, Kylo Ren thought that he might finally have caught her out of character, that her laughter might have been an expression of her true personality, but she persisted on being calm now and waited for his answer.

“Despite my best effort, the trip turned out unproductive,” he explained. When he remembered the presence of the servants, he looked at them menacingly through his mask and they didn’t need to see his eyes to feel a chill.

“You three, get out”, he ordered and they obeyed in a blink of an eye.

He turned back his attention to Rey who remained on the floor. He examined her more intently. Her hair was braided and dangled over her left shoulder. She was wearing a simple dress of light yellow and her feet were bare. She wore no makeup nor jewels, and she needed none to set the emperor’s spirit aflame. He wanted her; there was no longer any doubt about it. He wanted to kiss her until she went breathless. He wanted to rip that dress and taste her skin, to push her on her back and take her without restraint. Oh, the things he would do to her, if she'd only let him, if she stopped resisting him.

She _was_ fighting him, in her own way. That was also very clear to him now. By assuming the obedient and resigned attitude of a prisoner, she was denying him the opportunity to conquer and submit her on his own. Still, she  wasn’t going to win. He would make her his, the real Rey, the one who gave him the scar he saw every morning in the mirror, not the pale lifeless copy she was giving him instead since she had been offered to him as a gift.

“I have important guests arriving in a few days. I need you to attend the banquet that will be organised for them”, he told her in an authoritative tone.

-  Yes…

\- Focus on Soresu while you practice your forms, until then!”

Then without further clarification, Kylo Ren left the room.

____________________________

“My lord, is that the last Jedi I see there?

\- Well noticed, Senator Aki.

\- Rey, she is called, isn’t she? Well, I would never have expected her to be so...young”.

Kylo Ren decided that he hated Senator Aki. The man was a hypocrite and a kiss-ass of no measure and he kept leaning and invading the emperor’s personal space to offer him empty compliments and shallow observations about the other guests of the banquet. Still, Ren had to act civil towards him since he was the one who invited him in the first place.

The emperor sat at the center of a vast crescent-shaped table in the opulently decorated celebration hall. The room’s huge walls were adorned with engraved wooden panels surrounding the windows that offered a fabulous view of Naboo’s starry night. Chatter and clinking sounds filled the enormous space as the guests around him feasted on the exotic and numerous dishes that kept flowing from the kitchens. He, however, had his mask on, a dark lustrous monstrosity with large horns that he selected from his collection. It went quite well, however, with the large embroidered cape he had on.

He refused to partake in the feast. He always ate in private. He sat there, observing his invitees like a sentinel, looming and intimidating.

“She is decidedly nothing like I imagined,” observed the senator. Kylo Ren noticed the politician’s interested gaze on Rey and felt the urge to twist the little arrogant bastard’s neck.

“Believe me; she is more deadly than anyone in this room. Except me of course!”

The emperor was amused by Senator Aki’s nervous laugh. He decided to push further:

“Would you like to see what she is capable of?” he asked, and before any reply could cross the senator’s lips, he called her.

“Rey, come here!”

She was quietly sitting far from the emperor, nearly at the end of the table, and when Kylo Ren called her out, all the guests ceased their chatting and looked in her direction.

Rey got up from her chair and approached the emperor in silence.

“Rey, I want you to show our guests how good you are with a lightsaber”.

The girl’s mouth fell agape at his request. Before she could protest, he was asking the servants to bring him a lightsaber, _his_ lightsaber, which he presented to her as soon as he had it in his hand.

A light tension run through the room and the guests started whispering around the pair of force-users. Rey hesitated, and then, with a trembling hand, she took the lightsaber, causing gasps amongst the audience.

“Show us some movements from Form III, would you?”

There were dancers and acrobats entertaining the guests, but when Rey joined the center of the hall, they ceased their activities and spread in all directions, offering her the space to perform her own show.

At first, she seemed very shy. When she ignited the lightsaber, the decidedly menacing aspect of the weapon and the simple knowledge of what a Jedi was capable of made the guests feel very uneasy. Nevertheless, they were soon appeased by the sheer grace of her actions. She moved like an elegant dancer, executing one position after the other, twirling agilely her weapon as if she was defending herself from invisible projectiles.

“This lightsaber form is called Soresu. It is a defensive technique. It allows the warrior to defend themselves from blaster bolts and other attacks,” Kylo Ren explained to Senator Aki. The politician found the emperor quite blasé when a Jedi was wielding a mortal weapon in the same room.

Perhaps his worries were justified, as Rey suddenly accelerated her rhythm and changed her technique. Even to the eyes of those ignorant of lightsaber combat, her actions seemed now more aggressive. Many of the guests left their seats to get away from her as she started swinging the laser saber in big circles through the air. Lithely, she span around, slowly getting closer to the emperor.

Senator Aki jumped in panic, letting his chair fall and running away from the twirl of red flames who came towards him and Kylo Ren. The guards soared in the direction of their ruler. The Jedi was just in front of him, the table merely separating them, when she stopped spinning and pointed the lightsaber to his face.

The emperor could easily distinguish the scent of burning dust and carbon that emanated from his weapon. Rey was breathing heavily, an unmistakably menacing look in her eyes.

The guards all pointed their blasters towards her. The guests were all in panic, convinced that they were going to witness a regicide. Kylo Ren was the only one who actually enjoyed the situation.

“There you are”, he whispered only for her to hear.

After a brief moment, Rey seemed to regain her control and turned the lightsaber off. The guards were going to seize her when the emperor lifted his hand and stopped them:

“Thank you, Rey. That was a truly impressive demonstration of your skills. You may go back to your seat”.

_____________________________

“Why does he keep her here? Wouldn’t it be better if she were in prison.

\- She is obviously too dangerous to stay free in the palace.

\- She wants to kill the emperor, there can be no doubt”.

The servants’ gossip reflected Hux’s thoughts perfectly. When he came back from Corusant, he was shocked to learn what happened. The emperor hadn’t even bothered to inform him before he got back to Naboo. How could Ren be so foolish?

Hux tried to talk to him and discuss why the Jedi girl hadn’t been captured yet, after what she had done during the banquet.

“She still wants to kill me!” Kylo Ren said as if it made him happy.

“Yes, and that’s why she has to be restrained, at the least”, Hux tried to reason with him but Ren seemed entranced:

“She didn’t really intent to strike me, but she couldn’t contain her rage, not when she had such a powerful weapon in her hands!

\- I must insist, My Lord, that giving the Jedi access to weapons is not very...prudent. Should she remain in the palace, she must be rendered inoffensive. She must remain docile.

\- But I don’t want her to be docile!”

Kylo Ren voice shook the walls of the vestibule and silenced the general at once.

“I don’t care if she is dangerous! That’s how she’s supposed to be. Besides, I am perfectly able to handle her, and I find your lack of trust very insulting!

\- My Lord, I only care for your security”, ventured Hux as a justification, sweat starting to appear on his forehead.

“She has been pretending, Hux. Just like you said. But now, her false persona is starting to crackle. She will not be able to hide for long!”

There were so much passion and intensity in Kylo Ren’s voice that Hux couldn’t help frowning his eyebrows. Suddenly, it became clear to him that the emperor harbored feelings for the Jedi. It wasn’t just about rivalry or a yearning for dominance, anymore. He clearly wanted her. It made sense, actually; He had been acting so irrationally when it came to his former opponent -even though the emperor had never been quite the sensible man.

Still, Hux was stunned to realise that a woman had such an effect on Ren. Throughout the years they worked together, the dark knight never showed any sign of inclination towards another being, let alone romantically.

“If you allow me sir, I would like to talk to her.

\- Why?

\- It is just a technicality. I want to know what explanation she has to offer regarding what happened at the banquet, if you may”.

 The emperor considered silently the request of his advisor then answered him: “Alright, do it! Let’s see what she has to say.”

____________________________

“The lightsaber made me do it,” said Rey with a sorry expression. “I wasn’t intending to attack the emperor, I assure you”.

Hux knew that all she said could very well be true. Pointing a lightsaber at the emperor could be considered a very bad tactic if she wanted to keep going with her submissive act and maintain all suspicion at bay. Nevertheless, he invited her here, to his quarters, so she could explain what happened.

They were both seating at a small table, in his solarium, surrounded by an abundancy of luscious plants that Hux gathered all around the galaxy. He had a passion for flora, as few people actually knew. He loved to be around plants. They were more compliant and predictable than people. They were also more fascinating and lovely to look at.

He poured Rey another cup of the green colored infusion he himself was drinking and pressed her for more details:

“How did a lightsaber influence your actions?

\- It is a Dark Side weapon. It oozes of dark energy. I wasn’t unable to control its power”.

General Hux rolled his eyes. He hated all Force-related gibberish. He probably shouldn’t have asked. He decided to change the subject:

“The emperor thinks that you are playing a game, that you are pretending to be obedient?

\- Yes, he has mentioned it”, conceded Rey, suddenly looking tired.

\- He refuses to believe that you have accepted your condition so easily.

\- What choice do I have? If I resist I know it would be my doom.

\- Right...”

She was very convincing, he had to admit, but he wanted to test her further more: 

“Personally, if I were to face an enemy much stronger than me, I would definitely try to lure them into a false sense of confidence by pretending to be totally inoffensive while waiting for the perfect moment to strike”.

Rey didn’t flinch despite Hux’s piercing look and devilish smirk and noticed calmly:

“That would be a very devious plan, indeed”.

The general snorted and continued, irony tainting his words:

“Of course, it would be even better if there was a possibility I could seduce my enemy. Then, nothing could stop me from executing my plot”.

Rey seemed positively shocked. If she was pretending, she was definitely an excellent actor, thought Hux while sipping his drink. She will definitely prove useful to him.

_____________________________

Several days passed before Kylo Ren could see Rey again. He had been busy and Hux and the captain of the imperial guards lively advised against meeting her again alone. He didn't care for any of their warnings and seized the first occasion to go and visit her.

This time, it seemed that Rey and her handmaidens were expecting him. It was strange but he guessed that she knew that he would want to see her eventually.

As he entered Rey's room, the handmaidens greeted him with a bow. They leaned exactly at the same time in their white and red uniform, which made him think of dancers executing a well-practiced chorography.

Rey stood at the center of the room, looking serene. She wore a light blue dress with long and ample white sleeves that covered her hands. Her hair was brought into a single bun held together by a simple hairpin.

As he kept looking at her without a word, she pursed her lips, expecting him to explain the reason of his visit. He guessed she already knew, of course.

With a hand gesture, he dismissed the servants and the guard who accompanied him. The guard hesitated, but ended up leaving, observing that the emperor's wrath would always be far greater than his superiors’ would.

"Let us meditate together, shall we?"

Rey was visibly not expecting Kylo Ren to say that. Her lashes fluttered in disbelieve and it took her a few seconds before she nodded and sat down on the carpeted-floor of her chamber.

The emperor imitated her and sat in front of her in a meditative stance, removing his mask and setting it between them. He closed his eyes and in a controlled voice, he asked her:

"Tell me, Rey; do you think I should punish you for trying to kill me?

\- My Lord, I wasn't trying to kill you!"

There was apparent alarm in her voice.

"So you keep saying, apparently. Yet, I remember the way you looked at me when you pointed my lightsaber at my face. There was fire in your eyes!

\- I...I lost control, My Lord.

\- Indeed! You couldn't keep pretending at the moment. You showed your true self".

Rey brought her brows together in an expression of helplessness and whispered:

"I don't know what you want from me!"

For a very short moment, Kylo Ren doubted himself. Was he wrong about her? Did all resistance really leave her being? Did her sorrow make her weak? Seeing this fragile woman so defeated broke his heart.

Suddenly, he remembered; this wasn't any girl he had in front of him. This was Rey, his foe. She was a formidable woman and he had the mark on his face to prove it:

"I want you to stop taking me for a fool!" he ultimately declared.

There was a twisted smirk on his face when he lifted his hand and started choking her with the force.

He was used to the panic on people's faces when he did it to them, to the way they uselessly brought their hands to free their necks from the invisible hold. It was different with Rey. Apart from the sudden flush that appeared on her face and the little yelp that escaped from her lips, she didn't move at all. She just stared at him and bared the pain he bestowed upon her.

It just drove him mad. He certainly didn't want to kill her, but he wanted to make her react. His face became as red as hers and his hand trembled until he finally loosened his grip, allowing her to breathe again. His invisible touch however didn't totally disappear.

Without giving it any thought, Kylo Ren concentrated and brought his invisible hand down her neck. He started caressing her collarbones provoking a small whimper from her. There was incomprehension in her eyes but he ignored her implicit question. When his invisible hand got to her breasts, she gasped and he discovered that her bashfulness was incredibly tantalising.

She couldn't stop him, she was at the mercy of his invisible touch as he squeezed her tender mounts. He watched in wonderment as her breathing fastened, eyes closed and cheeks flushed red.

He was amazed by her resilience. Apart from the expected physiological reactions, Rey apparently refused to react to his assault. She just endured it without protesting, squeezing her eyes shut and donning an expression that betrayed neither her revulsion nor the enjoyment of his touch. Up until his invisible hand got to the apex of her thighs. When he cupped it and tightened his grip, she shook with all her being. She fell forward on her hands and breathed:

"No!"

Kylo Ren noticed then that he was sweating. He was feeling unbearably hot and his mouth was as dry as desert. He looked at the trembling form of Rey and instantly lost control.

In a second, he was on her. He grasped her arms to lift her up, getting hold of the collar of her dress and bringing it violently down her shoulders.

As soon as her skin was revealed, he started kissing it ravenously. He was greedy and impatient, tasting her neck, shoulders and the top of her breasts. He heard her whimpering but didn't care the slightest. He pushed her on her back and started biting the delicate skin of her neck.

"Please, no!" she begged him, but she didn't have a say in the matter. She was his gift, his possession. Even she couldn't stop him from doing whatever he wanted with her.

"Please, My Lord! Not like this!"

It was a hushed plead, barely audible, yet it succeeded in stopping his assault.

Kylo Ren looked in Rey's desperate eyes, panting, and repeated breathily: "Yes…Not like this!"

He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, then got up, picked up his mask and left Rey, still shivering on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers, thank you so much for all the kudos and comments you left for the first chapter. I am really humbled by your encouragements. You are truly fantastic! I hope that the second chapter was up to your expectations. 
> 
> I hesitated to put a warning about the last scene as it probably can be considered mildly Non/Con. Do you think I should have? Your opinion is very important to me!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren is learning patience.  
> Two new characters are introduced.

 

Rey’s handmaidens had no doubt about what happened. When the emperor dismissed them, they went to hide discreetly in the small dressing room adjacent to Rey’s bedroom. They kept quiet and tried to listen with their ears to the wall. They couldn’t hear much but enough to know that their mistress had been assaulted by the emperor.

They felt guilty and distressed to be unable to help her. Their position didn’t allow them to intervene. They were mere servants and their master was scary, so very much.

When they heard him leave, soon enough they went back to Rey’s room and found her recovering from his attack. Rey looked heartbreakingly fragile while she brought back the collar of her dress over her shoulders. He couldn’t have done much to her in so little time, but the handmaidens shared mortified glances when they noticed the bruises on her neck.

Lyn and Sana rushed to her side, to help her get up.

“Are you alright, My Lady?” asked her Lyn, real concern showing in her voice.

She smiled at them and reassured them:

“Don’t worry! I’m fine!”

Tania stood there, boiling in anger. “Men!” she spat with balled fists and scrunched up nose.

Rey got on her feet and soon recovered her dignified stature. She seemed fine, better than the maids would have expected.

“Would you like a bath, My Lady?” suggested Tania who had noticeably calmed down.

“A bath would be great! Thank you!” agreed Rey with a sweet smile.

The handmaidens soon got the bath ready. They poured some extra oils and perfumes to make it more relaxing and agreeable for their mistress. They were more joyful now that she was safe. Yet, when she removed her clothes and they could see the marks that the emperor left on her body, they felt sorry and powerless again.

Rey was the one to lift their spirits. As of late, she became more open and talkative and she granted them with tales from her time with the Resistance. They were quite familiar now with Finn, Poe, BB-8, Chewie and the rest of her comrades. They loved her stories and as she told them about another adventure, they soon were laughing and joking as they usually did.

Lyn, however, seemed more troubled. She kept rubbing the bruises on Rey’s neck, even though she knew perfectly well that it was useless. Rey ended up stopping her by delicately touching her hand and smiling reassuringly: “Lyn! Everything’s fine. I know what I am doing”.

The three handmaidens went quite, trying to process what Lady Rey just said.

To break the uneasy silence, Sana attempted a joke:

“I guess that we now know that the emperor is really a man, and not a robot!”

Lyn and Tania looked at her, astonished, then burst into laughter. Rey smiled with them.

“He is not just a man, he is like _all_ men!” insisted Tania.

Lyn’s cheeks went flush but she kept laughing shyly.

“Tania! You were married, weren’t you?”

Tania was surprised by Rey’s question, yet she answered without hesitation:

“Unfortunately, yes!”

The other two handmaidens laughed while they poured more hot water into the bathtub and Rey continued:

“So you know how to act around men, how to...be with them”.

The servants shared stunned glances.

“You mean you don’t know, My Lady?” dared Tania to ask.

“No, I know what happens when men and women…get together intimately. What I want to know is how to seduce men and please them, in a way that they will want you again?

-       Well there are entire books written about that!” interjected Sana who was actually a better expert in the subject.

Rey was a bit embarrassed and plunged a little more in the water. She asked in an unnecessarily hushed voice:

“Could you get me some of these books, Sana?

-       It will be my pleasure, Lady Rey!”

When they finally left their mistress and went back to the servants’ quarters to get some rest, the three maids shared their incomprehension concerning Rey’s request. Was she actually encouraging the emperor? Did she really want to seduce him?

Sana commented that if their mistress became the concubine of their ruler, it would be greatly advantageous for them three and she earned shocked looks from her two friends. Lyn and Tania, in contrast, were more worried now.

_________________________

A parade had been organised to introduce a new uniform for the imperial soldiers. To Kylo Ren, it looked just the same as the old one worn by the stormtroopers. Still, he had to be there. Being the emperor implied a number of responsibilities that he found utterly tedious. How long did he have to remain in the cold watching tide after tide of war machines and men parading in white armours? He exhaled loudly through his mask and General Phasma reacted immediately:

“Are you alright, My Lord?

-       No! I am extremely bored!”

They were perched on a platform above the flow of marching soldiers, accompanied by some dignitaries and highly ranked officers. They both wore long dark coats that accentuated their exceptional heights. Kylo Ren’s had an elegant grey fur collar and large sleeves where he kept tucking his hands.

General Phasma tried to comfort him:

“It’s nearly finished, My Lord!

-       This parade was supposed to be a demonstration of the empire’s strength before an invasion of the Outer Rim Territories. Now that the project has been delayed, this parade has no meaning!

-       Lord Ren, this is a demonstration by the army to show their loyalty and devotion to you”, explained Phasma with calm.

Kylo Ren remained silent for a moment then continued on a totally different subject:

“You have been assisting Rey in her training.

-       Indeed, but I am mostly keeping her company. She trains alone and I am afraid I am too ignorant of Jedi fighting techniques to really help her.

-       Did you notice anything?

-       Yes, actually! I believe she is getting better.

-       Do you mean at her training?

-       No, I am talking about her mood. She seems less sad, more energetic”.

The emperor swiftly turned his head towards the general. He was visibly very interested and wanted to know more:

“You think she is getting used to her life here?

-       It is possible.

-       It was a good idea to allow her to exercise. I think I will give her access to other parts of the palace. The gardens! She would like that, wouldn’t she?

-       I can hardly imagine why she would not.

-       I remember her dream, the green island. She likes green spaces. Yes! I am sure she will love it!”

The parade was ending and Phasma was glad for the distraction, because she had no idea how to react to the emperor sudden and atypical enthusiasm.

____________________

As she promised, Sana went to get some books for Lady Rey from the library. It was more a collection of imperial archives, in reality, but there were enough books to choose from. The inhabitants of the palace went there or sent their servants to borrow some volumes or download copies on their datapads for them to read.

The place in itself was impressive. A multitude of workers and the droids that assisted them were constantly busy organizing the abundant collection of writings, wandering through a forest of shelves.

The green-skinned Twi’lek handmaiden was in fact familiar with the library. She knew how to read, which was rarely the case among her fellow servants, and she even enjoyed it. She would even pretend, from time to time, that she was borrowing a book for one of her mistresses, when she was actually getting it for herself. She therefore needn’t any assistance to know exactly where to look to get the volumes for Lady Rey.

She started browsing through the holobooks, turning them on, exploring their content, one by one, and selecting those she judged adequate. Others might have felt embarrassed by the content of this racy literature, but not her. She was perfectly at ease, at least until someone snuck on her:

“You are Lady Rey’s handmaiden”.

She jumped in surprise. She didn’t feel him approach her at all. The tall ginger man fixated her, sporting an eerie grin.

“Yes?

-       Are you getting those books for her?”

Sana felt oddly uncomfortable. There was something very unsettling about him. She wasn’t certain if answering him meant betraying the confidence of her mistress.

“Well, I…

-       Do you know who I am? I am General Hux”.

She daren’t answer, her eyes going wide. She heard so many things about him, mostly horrible things.

“What is your name, maid?

-       I am Sana”, she told him with a less assured voice now.

“Tell me Sana, do you like your mistress?

-       Yes, I do, Sir !

-       I am sure you want the best for her.

-       Of course, Sir !

-       You know, Sana? I like her too! In fact, I really care about her wellbeing. But Lady Rey is a very secretive person. She never complains or asks for anything. It worries me”.

The handmaiden knew exactly what the general was getting at, but she kept nodding and feigning innocence.

“I wish I could know more about her, for her own sake. Do you think you can help me with that?”

Sana felt trapped. She squeezed the holobooks she selected against her chest and tried to dodge Hux’s question:

“I don’t know if a handmaiden like me would really be of any help?”

Realising that the girl was bright enough, the general changed his tactics:

“Tell me Sana, are you ambitious?

-       Ambitious?

-       Yes. Do you ever dream of a better life?

-       Everybody does, Sir.

-       Right. However, _I_ can actually make your life better. My spies enjoy remarkable privileges.

-       You want me to spy on Lady Rey?!

-       I am not asking you to monitor her every move. I just want you to report to me from time to time and tell me how she is doing”.

Sana’s lower lip quivered and she diverted her gaze to the holobooks stocked in the shelves. She wanted to get away from this man, but he was the emperor’s advisor. He was powerful and could very easily crush her if she didn’t comply. She hesitated for a long moment and Hux coughed to manifest his irritation.

“I will, Sir. For Lady Rey’s sake”.

___________________________

When she handed the holobooks to Rey, Sana seemed less cheerful than usual.

“Thank you, Sana. I am sorry I put you through this”.

Lady Rey apparently assumed that getting the books made the handmaiden feel uncomfortable.

“Oh no, My Lady. It was no bother at all!”

Rey rewarded her  with a lovely smile that showed her dimples, which made Sana feel horribly guilty.

Hux was right; she was ambitious. She often dreamt of a better condition, of becoming more powerful and finally showing those fellow servants who annoyed her what she was capable of. Still, she had a good heart and didn’t want to betray the only mistress she actually liked since she started working at the imperial palace.

“Lady Rey! I have to tell you something”, she confessed nervously. “General Hux asked me to spy on you”.

Rey blinked a few times, stunned. She turned her back to the Twi’lek handmaiden and seemed to think intensely for a few seconds, then said:

“Thank you for telling me, Sana! Thank you so much!”

Her voice trembled with emotion and for an instant, Sana thought she might burst into tears.

“I am afraid the general wants me to report to him about you”, specified the maid.

“I would never blame you if you’d refuse Sana but, would you be willing to repeat to him what I will tell you to say?”

The handmaiden didn’t even hesitate:

“Yes, My Lady! I serve you, not him”.

Rey took her in her arms and hugged her gratefully.

_______________________

Kylo Ren never truly considered the other knights of Ren as his friends. In fact, the rivalry between them was manifest and he never doubted that each of them would have exploited any opportunity to take his place as their leader. Still, he felt strangely comfortable around them. They shared the same values and the same way of life, which made them predictable and somehow trustworthy.

Two of them were visiting Naboo. Kinga Ren and Solon Ren were both sent to Ryloth a few months ago to do some field reconnaissance for an eventual invasion. The emperor summoned them to report to him but also because he wanted to give them a new mission.

He welcomed them personally as soon as they arrived at the palace and accompanied them to the war rooms. General Hux and General Phasma were among the highly ranked officers who were awaiting them. With the emperor, they listened to them going on in their mechanised voices about the political and social situation on Ryloth. Things were apparently quite bad with criminal lords gaining more power and taking further control of the system since the death of Snoke and the instauration of the New Empire.

It was nothing though that Kylo Ren didn’t already know. He was perfectly aware that the empire still hadn’t asserted its domination over the Outer Rims and the situation on planet Ryloth was merely an example of how the crime lords excelled at exploiting every given opportunity.

The account by the two knights of Ren being so grim, there was a tangible anxiety amongst the officers who feared the emperor’s reaction. He eventually took a chair and carried on listening with an unexpected coolness. He even started laughing, suddenly and inexplicably, which startled everyone in the war rooms more than any anger outburst might have done.

Kylo Ren wasn’t listening to his subordinates anymore. He was thinking about Rey. He wasn’t able to think about anything else lately. Since he visited her in her rooms a few days ago, he had been living in agony. A sweet kind of agony. He felt like a hungry man denied the feast that was laid in front of him. She was his to the taking, and yet he wanted to be patient.

He had never been good at being patient.

“The journey is more important than the destination” he recalled his uncle saying, back when he was his apprentice. He wandered if the advice applied to this particular situation.

Still, “Not like this” she said to him, like a promise. The anticipation was burning him slowly, yet it felt so sweet. He kept replaying the memories in his mind, how soft her skin felt, how delectable it tasted, the sound of her hushed voice. He regretted not kissing her beautiful mouth. He wanted her so badly. However, his mind was set. He would woo her, lure her to him. Like a good hunter, his prey will come to him. He wanted her to desire him as much as he desired her.

When Kinga Ren and Solon Ren were done with their long report and the military leaders gave their opinions about the situation, the emperor decided to postpone his new orders to his knights and invited them both to his quarters instead.

On his way to his chambers, he was thrilled to meet Rey who, escorted by a guard, was heading to the training complex.

“Rey!” he called with obvious delight.

“My Lord”, she calmly acknowledged, leaning her head slightly and looking down at her feet.

“Are you going to exercise?

-       Yes, My Lord.

-       Indeed”.

The two knights who accompanied the emperor witnessed the incomprehensible behaviour of their leader who kept watching the young woman silently but with an evident interest.

Solon Ren didn’t recognise her at first but eventually remembered who she was; the last Jedi. He had met during a battle before, but very briefly. It was nonetheless enough for him to acknowledge her strength and her talent as a warrior. He couldn’t comprehend why she was at the palace now, but he was a wise one and knew that the answer would come to him in time.

_______________________

Kylo Ren had a private reading room where he enjoyed relaxing and taking some time for himself, although he did little of that of late. There were comfortable seats around small tables and a big window allowed the blue room to be submerged in daylight. Paintings and sculptures decorated the area, all nonfigurative, all incomprehensible to the two knights.

As they were to join the emperor and sit down, he suddenly jumped on his feet and asked them: “Would you rather accompany me to the training complex?

-       The training complex?” reacted Kinga Ren.

“Yes! I want to show you something!”

The knights didn’t think they had a say in the subject and they obediently followed the emperor out of his chambers and through the palace until they got to the training rooms.

When Kylo Ren appeared, followed by two figures just as dark and intimidating as he was, the guards and servants who were there quickly ceased their activities, without being asked to. Soon the enormous space was left empty, apart from two women who stared curiously at the three masked intruders.

Rey and Phasma suspected effectively that the emperor didn’t want them to leave. The general joined the Jedi right after the strategic reunion and they started training with long staffs. They now kept their weapons in hand while expecting some sort of explanation from the emperor.

When he got certain that all the guards and servants had left, Kylo Ren removed his mask and addressed the two women: “Please resume your training! That’s what we are here for”.

Rey and Phasma exchanged questioning glances then took up their duelling again. It wasn’t much a show as their actions remained mild and calculated, obviously an exercise rather than a real confrontation.

The emperor removed his cape and sat on a bench followed by the two Knights of Ren. Kinga Ren and Solon Ren removed their masks and exchanged questioning looks, both wondering what it was that their leader was so eager to show to them.

“You know who that woman is?” he asked them quietly.

“You mean the one who is not Phasma?” answered Kinga with obvious disdain. She and the general never saw eye to eye.

Kylo Ren ignored her boldness, as he often did with his subordinate, and continued:

“This is Rey, the last Jedi”.

Solon Ren choose not to say anything. He was usually calm and very considerate. He wanted to know what the emperor had in mind.

“The last Jedi? And she is allowed to train freely?” Kinga was just not as controlled as her comrade was. She was the opposite of that; impulsive and reckless, yet brave.

“Yes”, answered Kylo Ren, almost proudly.

“Isn’t she dangerous?

-       I guess she is”.

The emperor smiled unfathomably and Kinga Ren snorted in indignation.

“You keep one of our greatest enemies, here with you at the palace? She was part of the Resistance. She should be dead!” she spat and Solon Ren interjected immediately.

“Kinga”, he warned her. “You don’t know what you are talking about.

-       Indeed!” insisted Kylo Ren with gritted teeth.

Kinga Ren’s survival instinct kicked in and she recoiled in submission away from the menacing form of her master. However, the irritation she was feeling wasn’t gone.

Solon Ren wanted to break the tension and casually commented:

“The Jedi seems to know her way around a staff.

-       It is her weapon of choice!” reacted the emperor promptly in a better mood. “I wanted you to see what a talented warrior she is. She might not seem like it right now, but she is ruthless creature, untameable.

-       Really?” teased Kinga Ren but he ignored her.

-       She used to be my greatest enemy. I thought for a long time that the war would never end with us two alive. Yet, look at her now. She is at my mercy. She tries to fight me and to resist, but she can no longer win. She is just like the planets that resist my power; they seem wild and impossible to control, but there is always a way to submit them!”

The emperor breathed heavily, carried away by his own words. The two knights observed him, silently while Rey and Phasma stopped their training as they noticed the sudden agitation emanating from their audience.

When Kylo Ren seemed calmer, General Phasma decided to take a small break and drink a sip of water. Kinga Ren took the opportunity to get up and steadily head towards Rey. With a satisfied smile on her face, she asked: “May I?” though no one knew if she was addressing the emperor or the Jedi herself. She turned around to face Phasma and extended her hand towards her. When the military woman didn’t react, Kinga brought her eyebrows up and moved her fingers in a gesture of impatience.

The general reluctantly threw her the staff and the Knight of Ren caught it with ease. She turned back towards Rey and after a brief instant when she looked at her with derision, she attacked her brutally.

This wasn’t exercising anymore. Kinga Ren obviously intended to hurt the Jedi, feelings of animosity and jealousy mingling inside. Rey reacted accordingly and met every attack of the knight of Ren with equal fervour. They fought with all their forces, hitting the floor violently at every miss, pushing each other around the room.

Solon Ren disapproved of his comrade’s actions. He knew that it couldn’t end up well. But when he ventured a look in the direction of his master, he saw the glimmer of excitement in his eyes.

“Yes, yes! Show us what you can do”, murmured Kylo Ren while avidly taking in the scene that was bestowed upon him.

The two opponents had very different fighting styles. Rey was much more agile and controlled while Kinga Ren relied on pure aggression. The screams that emanated from the knight’s mouth could freeze the heart of the bravest warriors and she didn’t seem to respect any rule as long as it gave her the advantage.

Kinga Ren nearly hit her opponent in the head but Rey dodged her attack by kneeling down. Aggravated, the knight jumped on the occasion and pushed her viciously with a foot on the chest. When Rey fell on her back with a yelp, Kinga brought her staff up in the air and prepared to smash it on the Jedi’s face. She might have succeeded if Rey didn’t roll over and Kylo Ren’s wasn’t suddenly strongly holding the knight's trembling hand. The show was no longer amusing to him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he hissed while bringing his hand to her throat. Chocking noises started coming out of Kinga Ren’s mouth.

“My Lord…Kylo!” she implored with tears forming in her eyes.

There was a murderous expression on the emperor’s face. He was like a furious beast and he didn’t care if he ended up killing a woman that he trained and fought with for so long.

Rey got swiftly on her feet and came up to him. She tugged on his arm and tried to reason with him: “Please, don’t do it! She didn’t do me any harm, My Lord. Please forgive her!”

Kylo Ren turned his face to look at her, still holding Kinga Ren’s neck, and her imploring eyes appeased the rage that took hold of him. He let go of the knight’s throat and Kinga Ren fell to the ground, boneless, like a dummy that got its strings cut out.

Solon Ren approached imperturbably, while Phasma kept watching them from a distance. The imposing knight, who was slightly shorter than Kylo Ren but remarkably broader, leaned towards his comrade and brought her arm over his shoulders. He helped her get on her feet and with a nod to the emperor, he left with her to get her some medical assistance.

Their master didn’t say a thing. He just followed them with his eyes until he noticed that Rey’s hand was still on his arm. He turned to face her again and they both stared intensely at each other, his nostrils flaring, her lips trembling. They nearly forgot they weren’t alone when General Phasma came near them and asked them if everything was alright.

_______________________

“Are you O.K.?” asked Solon Ren to Kinga Ren. She looked dispirited and positively shameful, sitting quietly on the edge of the infirmary bed.

“I’m fine”, she answered him with little credibility.

“You shouldn’t have done that.

-       I know! But what is he doing keeping her here?

-       Keep it down! You know now that he is attached to her.

-       He keeps her like a wild animal, a dangerous creature to keep him amused. And he doesn’t want anyone else to play with her.

-       Maybe.

-       He is mad.

-       This is not the first time you say that!”

Kinga Ren breathed deeply. Solon knew of her feelings towards Kylo Ren, although he never tried to confront her or comfort her for that matter. She was deeply jealous of Rey now. She hated every woman who got close to her master because she herself could never tell him how much he meant to her.

She scrunched up her tattooed face and asked Solon Ren:

“Did you get my mask?

-       Yes”.

He hand it to her and she put it on, covering her heartbroken expression and jumping off the bed.

_______________________

Kylo Ren wondered if he should call upon Rey to see how she were doing. She had told him, though, that she was unharmed. He lacked a reason to visit her, although he needn’t any. He just avoided going to her rooms again, as he was confident that he wouldn’t be able to control himself better than the last time.

After much thought, he decided against it and went to bed to get some much needed rest.

He dreamt of her again. She actually tormented him in his sleep just as much as she did during his waking hours. But his dream was different this time. It wasn't just the lewd visions that woke him up sweaty and wanting during the night. This time, it was more bizarre and enthralling.

He dreamt that he was in a cave where little light penetrated from the cracks. Drops of water fell rhythmically and their sound echoed through the closeted space.

When he got at the end of the chamber, he saw her. Her naked back towards him, she slowly turned her head to look at him. There was red smoke all around her and when she opened her mouth, she aspired it slowly until it all disappeared. Her eyes glowed then like two burning flames and she licked her lips alluringly, a lurid smile appearing on her moth. She turned around completely to reveal two lightsabers in her hands that she ignited before jumping towards him like a fury.

He woke up in panic from the dream vision. He was sweating and his breath came out in shallow and rapid puffs. He soon regained his spirits and calmed himself.

Even when she is trying to kill me, she looks beautiful, he mused.

He continued analysing his dream and concluded that all the warnings that were given to him were really making him anxious. His subordinates maybe doubted him, but he knew he could handle Rey. He knew her better than she probably thought, and soon, very soon, she would succumb to him. He just didn't know how long his patience could last.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear, oh dear! How much longer do you think Kylo Ren will be able to resist? 
> 
> I am sorry this chapter was basically plot-development. I hope I am not asking you to be too patient!
> 
> As a side note, Kylo Ren's vision is inspired by a scene from the documentary "Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno". It is about a never released movie by the famous French director. Even if he never got to finish it, he shot several scenes with Romy Schneider conveying a very lascivious and psychedelic atmosphere (including her playing with a slinky in a very suggestive way. No, really!). They were supposed to be visions of a jealous husband who keeps suspecting his wife of cheating on him. They are beautiful and truly haunting. 
> 
> Thanks again for your kudos and your comments! Your opinions means the world to me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is time for the Spring Festival on Naboo.  
> Time for romance and also some unexpected events.

 

The emperor had a very private life. He kept a Spartan lifestyle and asked of servants only the minimum; bringing him his meals, cleaning his rooms when he wasn’t there, repairing the damage he tended to cause… Otherwise, he had the habit to do everything alone. He bathed, groomed and dressed by himself. He always ate alone and seldom showed his unmasked face to the help. He somehow trusted the palace’s chamberlain, an old man, very dutiful and taciturn. Kylo Ren allowed himself some degree of humanity around him and came to trust him enough to show him his true face.

“Did you tell Lady Rey about the gardens?” he asked when he came in the bedroom where the chamberlain was waiting for him.

The chamberlain bowed to salute his ruler despite the stiffness of his old spine.

“I did, My Lord”, he confirmed in his low and gentle voice.

Kylo Ren nonchalantly removed his mask and his gloves and put them on a table, one of the rare pieces of furniture to be found in the room. It was a very dark place, all in shades of grey and red. At its center was a sunken bed, grand enough to accommodate the length of his body. All the closets were perfectly hidden in the walls and only some subtle control panels betrayed their presence. The only extravagance of the room was its remarkable height and the glass dome that covered it. A mechanised iris  prevented the light from coming in when needed. The room was a true architectural portrait of its occupant.

“How did she react?” enquired the emperor and the chamberlain answered promptly:

“She seemed quite pleased, My Lord.

\- Really?

\- I think she is very happy.

\- Did she say anything?

\- She just said; thank you.

\- Hum”.

Kylo Ren didn’t see Rey much lately. He couldn’t resume his training sessions with her as he was constantly busy with his political projects and the organisation of the latest festivities on Naboo.

If the Naboo were good at anything, it was celebrating. He knew that, of course, when he chose the planet as the new capital of his imperial government. In his opinion, they celebrated too much, turning even the saddest event into a sumptuous procession. Yet, he liked the planet far better than Coruscant and its suffocating atmosphere. Naboo was his grandmother’s home world and it somehow pleased him to consider it as his own home now. He liked its extravagant landscapes and its no less eccentric habitants. They were jovial and far more innocent than the people of Coruscant were and, even though he was himself of a very sober nature, he sanctioned their festive habits.

Kylo Ren didn’t have a real investiture ceremony. After Snoke’s death, things went very fast and the fight to overcome the Resistance occupied all his time and energy. When the war finally ended, he had already been proclaimed new emperor by Snoke’s former allies and the imperial senate. Even though he didn’t personally mind the lack of a proper coronation, the Naboo and the Gungans alike were apparently disappointed there weren’t any revelries to honour their new ruler. He therefore decided to please them and take part in the festival that marked the return of the spring season.

The prospect of festivities turned out a pleasant distraction from his wearying political duties. Kylo Ren usually didn’t care for such things but he was growing tired and exasperated by how little was accomplished under his rule despite his best efforts. He needed to get away from all that, even for a day.

He had invited Rey to the Spring Festival. It was going to be her first outing from the palace since her arrival. He wanted to offer her that, amongst many other gifts he kept giving her. Even if he struggled to come up with ideas of what could please her, he started sending her all sorts of gowns, jewelry, flowers and delicacies. His subordinates suggested those as gift ideas assuming she’d appreciate what any other woman would. Still, he felt that it wasn’t enough. Those things, as sumptuous as they were, lacked originality and he really wanted to please her.

Spring was nearly there, and he was decided to give Rey access to the gardens. He wasn't certain she wouldn’t try to escape, even though she hadn’t been guilty of any attempt. His unreasonable fear to lose her was more to blame and it made him impose a condition; that at least two guards would accompany her during her promenades.

Now that the chamberlain had told her, he was eager to know her reaction, but the concise details offered by the old man failed to quench his curiosity. He would have to wait, until tomorrow, after the festival, to talk to her himself.

“I have brought you your garment for tomorrow’s celebrations, My Lord”, said the chamberlain eventually.

“Excellent!” approved the emperor.

“I left it hanging in the changing room.

\- Good. You may go now”.

The chamberlain tilted his head and walked backward until he got to the door. Never turning his back to his master as he considered it a sign of disrespect, he put the palm of his hand on the control panel. The door went open with a _whoosh_ and he quickly disappeared in the vestibule.

Kylo Ren looked at the starry night for a moment, through the glass dome. He then went to open a closet in the wall and his collection off masks appeared, displayed on consecutive velvet-covered shelves. He sought to select the one he would be wearing for the Spring Festival.

_____________________

Kinga Ren and Solon Ren were about to leave for Ryloth in the early morning, but the emperor wanted to review with them some of the details of their new mission. He was waiting for them at the war rooms, along with Hux.

"That wretched Hux!" Kinga would call him, loud enough for him to hear.

Kylo Ren was already dressed up for the celebrations of the day. He looked very elegant and imposing in his deep burgundy suit. His coat was nearly long enough to touch the floor, its sleeves and bottom hem embellished with sophisticated golden embroideries that evoked flames or tree branches. Layers of fabric were tightly and finely intertwined upon his chest. A large belt, perfectly cut and plain pants and simple yet elegant brown boots completed his outfit.

The Knights of Ren weren't used to see him in such extravagant clothes and took a moment to take him in. He gazed at them, mildly amused, and then went straight to the point:

"I trust you understand what is expected of you, knights.

\- Of course, My Lord", answered Solon with poise. "We are to provide the habitants of Ryloth with the necessary means to resist the crime lords.

\- Exactly, I want you to help start a guerrilla. A small force to disturb the criminals operations. Thus without causing a civil conflict".

General Hux snorted loudly at these words. The emperor and his two knights turned swiftly to gawk at him.

"I beg your pardon, My Lord"  , he tried to justify. "But isn’t civil conflict exactly what we need right now? It would be the perfect opportunity to intervene militarily on the Ryloth system.

\- Absolutely not!" yelled Kylo Ren who grew tired of discussing the subject with his advisor. "The people of Ryloth would never stand a chance if they took part in an open conflict with the crime lords. Guerrilla operations will instead give them hope and convince the population that the empire is on their side and disposed to help them in their struggle. Soon enough, they will be willingly calling for our help.

\- These are Resistance methods".

Hux's  comment made Kylo Ren's upper lip twitch uncontrollably. He inhaled deeply but his voice came out shaky and full of irritation:

"I am _not_ like Emperor Palpatine, Hux! I refuse to use the same methods as he did; the schemes, the manipulation. _I_ know how the universe works. How everything is irremediably connected. How every decision, every action has unstoppable consequences. _I_ will prove to you that I am a better emperor than he was! Power is nothing if it's not used for a higher purpose!"

General Hux was nearly blown away by the mere power of the emperor's voice. His survival instincts urged him to keep silent.

Kinga Ren and Solon Ren both enjoyed witnessing Hux being thus compelled to silence. It was quite the rare event.

When Kylo Ren was done instructing them, he encouraged them to wait until the night to depart for Ryloth. The skies of Naboo were going be quite busy during the day because of the Spring Festival.

_____________________

There were events organised all around the planet to celebrate the return of the spring, but the main celebration was to take place in the Lake Country. Despite its remoteness, the habitants of Naboo would come every year to the mountainous area to witness the unfreezing of the waterfalls and the resurgence of nature.

Kylo Ren was preparing to get in his shuttle to get there. He had his mask on. It was a simple dark one, so polished that it reflected things like a mirror.

"Take another one!" he ordered Hux, not yet forgiving his insolence that morning, much to the exasperation of the general.

The emperor was about to embark on the ship when he saw her. Rey was accompanied by a guard and was heading towards another vessel. She looked amazing. She wore a high waist dress with ample skirts, white and yellow, and she had flowers made of fabric in her hair, her locks half gathered in a neatly stylised bun. She was the incarnation of spring, as fresh as a light rain and as engrossing as a new life.

He followed her with his eyes until she got to her shuttle and disappeared inside. He was certain now that he was going to enjoy the festival.

After a rather short flight, the imperial vehicle got to its destination. As the ship's bridge was lowered, Kylo Ren discovered a crowd of citizens assembled around a stage where he was supposed to sit during the festivities. Surrounded by the imperial guards, he made his way to join the officers and dignitaries who had the privilege to sit with him.

Rey was already there, sitting quietly, but with an unmistakable glimmer of enthusiasm in her eyes. She was admiring the view, overwhelmed by the splendor of the waterfalls and the effervescency of the crowd.

Kylo Ren smiled, knowing that nobody would see it under his mask. He was delighted that Rey was enjoying her gift, the chance to take part in the celebrations. If that were what she liked, he was prepared to arrange all new events to keep her happy.

He took place on his seat at the center of the stage. The chair looked the same as those occupied by the other guests. He'd specified clearly that he didn't want a throne for the occasion.

The crowd cheered and applauded him. There were true joy and exhilaration in the air. Musicians played lively melodies and people danced to them in little groups of friends and families. Despite their scarceness, some people managed to find enough flowers to make crowns and necklaces and the crowd vibrated with colors. The lingering cold didn't seem to bother them either and children and adults alike run and jumped barefoot in the grass.

Artists and dancers have been commissioned to animate the celebrations, but the people of Naboo needn't any help to have fun and keep the party alive.

Even the emperor was astonished by such exuberance. He never witnessed before a happy occasion like this one and it made him somehow hopeful. He remarkably felt more optimistic that a better world could exist, that he would succeed in his endeavour to bring order and peace to the galaxy.

He turned to look at Rey again, but instead of enjoying the celebrations, she seemed preoccupied. She held her chair firmly and he could read her lips saying: "Something is wrong". All of a sudden, she turned her head towards him with panic distorting her features. She got up abruptly and he did the same to get to her when he felt an explosion trigger just behind him.

The force of the blast pushed him forward and he fell on his hands. For an instant, he couldn't hear anything, then he distinguished the screams of panic and the unmistakable sounds of chaos. If he was hurt, he couldn't feel it. The anger made him numb. He pushed on his hands to get on his knees then on his feet, a fearsome growl coming out of his chest. The guards were going to help him when the sound of his scream froze them on the spot and prevented them from getting any closer. He shouted and it sounded more like a deranged beast than a human.

"Idiots! Can't you see he is hurt? He needs assistance!" he heard Hux crying out. He looked around him searching for Rey, but he couldn't find her. All around him, people were running in confusion, the cheerfulness of the festival now all gone.

Someone tried to kill him. The truth rang in his ears like the phantom shrilling noise that kept tormenting him.

A guard grabbed his arm to get him away and the emperor tried to push him before he realised he had barely any force left in him. He strived to walk and his unsteady steps didn't get him very far before he felt his legs crumble beneath him. The guards hurriedly caught him and carried him away to his shuttle.

_____________________

As soon as the news reached them, the two Knights of Ren run to the emperor's chambers. He apparently refused to be treated at the infirmary and didn't want to let anybody in, apart from the medical staff.

"Let me in!" yelled Kinga Ren, but the imperial guards were immovable. They were under strict orders not to let anyone get inside, up until Rey showed up at the doors.

"Her? She has to get in?" pointed Kinga at Rey, absolutely outraged.

"The Emperor specifically asked for her", explained one of the guards while opening the door.

Rey looked at Kinga Ren with what the knight interpreted as pity.

"Don't you dare look at me like that!"

Solon had to grab his comrade by the elbow to prevent her from jumping on Rey. Nevertheless, the Jedi seemed unshakable. She calmly passed by them and got through the doors that the guards held open for her.

“It was you, wasn’t it? You tried to kill him!” she could hear Kinga Ren still yelling at her while she penetrated into the vestibule.

Rey didn't know at first which door led to Kylo Ren's room, but the din caused by the injured emperor soon reached her. She stood in front of the right door panel and awaited until it opened to let her in. He sensed her arrival.

"Rey! Rey! Are you alright?" he repeated deliriously. She got closer and saw him lying on his bed surrounded by several medical droids trying to treat his wounds. His temple was bleeding and his left shoulder and side showed multiple bruises. A droid touched his ribs and he grimaced in pain.

Despite his state, he turned on his side and lifted himself on his elbow to have a better view of Rey.

"You have bruises on your face!" he noticed with shock.

Rey instinctively touched her cheek where a few dark spots were visible then answered him.

"Don't worry about me, My Lord. You were much more harmed by the explosion.

\- The explosion!" he repeated feverishly. "Who could have done it? Who?"

Rey didn't acknowledge his question and instead stepped closer to him. Regardless of the medical droid urging her to keep away, she sat on her knees next to Kylo Ren's bed and delicately put her hand on his face.

Her touch was soothing and the emperor allowed himself to close his eyes and calm his spirits.

"I was so afraid I lost you, Rey".

There was so much sadness in his tone. Rey winced a little.

"Hush!” her voice was so soft and gentle. “I am alive. And you are too, My Lord. Let the medical droids take care of your wounds and soon you will be well again".

Her words were like a balm for his soul, all the images of terror and the turbulence gone from his mind.

"Please stay!" he implored and she answered him promptly:

"I won't go anywhere, My Lord".

She rubbed his face and arranged some locks of hair sticking on his sweaty forehead. The droids around them were resigned to let Lady Rey at the emperor's side while they managed to resume their work.

_____________________

"Who did it?"

The evident agitation of the emperor imposed prudence among his officers. None of them knew the answer and they would not dare console him with useless justifications.

"WHO TRIED TO KILL ME?" he snapped, beating his fists brutally on the table.

The captain of the imperial guards tried to appease him:

"We are working on finding the culprit, My Lord.

\- You are working on it? I thought your job was to protect me. You should have prevented this assassination attempt in the first place. You have proved yourself to be rather useless, Captain".

The captain shrunk in front of the threatening figure of his master. Despite his injuries and his unsteady walk, Kylo Ren was as frightening as ever.

General Hux seemed the only officer composed enough to address him without fear:

"The technology used to trigger the explosion is apparently very basic and it is very hard to track down the source of its component, as they are very easy to find.

\- You mean anybody could have done it?

\- Indeed.

\- Civilians? Soldiers? Dignitaries? All are suspects then. Even you, Hux".

The emperor swiftly turned to face the general and stared at him, his ragged breaths easily heard through his somber mask. Hux didn't flinch though:

"Anyone could have done it, technically. That's why we have to consider the motive. Who would want to kill you, My Lord?

\- Are you trying to be funny? You know very well that I have countless enemies.

\- Every ruler does, My Lord. Still, however difficult the search for the culprit might turn out, we can turn this attempt on your life into an opportunity.

\- What do you mean?

\- An attack on the emperor is a very serious offence. No one would dare oppose your efforts to seek justice. Not even the imperial senate".

A heavy silence fell on the war rooms like a cloak of worry. Kylo Ren considered Hux's proposition then replied:

"I don't think I like the idea of using this...incident politically.

\- But you agree that we can't let it go unpunished? What I merely suggest is that in case we can't find the culprit soon, we can very well make one!"

Sly General Hux, though Kylo Ren. His idea might have sounded malicious, he couldn’t deny its appeal.

_____________________

Kylo Ren asked Phasma to call upon Rey and see how she was doing. She apparently was fine and the general surprised him by revealing that Rey also enquired about his wellbeing.

The emperor's heart swelled. He actually considered Rey as being his true saviour. Without her, he might have ended scattered into bits all around the valleys. A suspicion kept nagging him, however, in the back of his head. Did she really intent to save him or did she react on pure instinct when she felt the impeding explosion?

Still, he didn't think she had something to do with the attack, whatever unsubtle insinuations Hux sent his way.

He craved to see her, he needed to, at least to thank her for staying at his side while he was treated for his injuries. She proved so comforting, another quality he discovered in her. Then again, he suspected it was in her nature to be generous and to give her support to those who needed it. He remembered her touch, so delicate and soothing. That's what he desired the most; he wanted her to touch him and caress his skin of her own volition.

He hesitated to go and see her himself. He already allowed himself to appear vulnerable in her presence, although it wasn't the first time she saw him stricken by wounds. He felt fragile and not only physically. The attempt on his life left him shaken and he vainly persued the serenity to consider the situation with enough detachment.

Kylo Ren couldn't meditate. He went instead to his reading room and tried to empty his mind from the worries that tormented him. He got close to the window and looked down at the gardens where he was enchanted to see Rey accompanied by two guards and one of her handmaidens she seemed so fond of.

Rey was running around and hitting what little snow remained on the floor with her feet. She even snooped to gather snowballs then tried to hit her maid with them. She missed, obviously on purpose, but the two women laughed and continued their joyous progression through the gardens.

She seemed so unlike the placid character she kept assuming in his presence. A dark feeling, a desire of possession, flared inside Kylo Ren’s chest evaporating all his plans to be patient. He left his quarters and went directly to the gardens where he searched frantically for Rey and her companions. The sound of her laughter led him to her and as soon as he found her, he sprang towards her and seized her by the knuckle.

She gasped in surprise but he remained determined to draw her away.

"Don't follow us!" he ordered the befuddled guards and handmaiden.

Kylo Ren kept dragging her through the gardens. The foliage got thicker and darker until they reached an isolated corner where the leaves were so dense they formed a roof above their heads. Still, some thin rays of light got through and one could distinguish the first flower buds on the branches of the fruit trees.

The emperor stopped and turned to face Rey. He was agitated, breathing heavily and trembling menacingly. Now that he had her alone with him, he was lost for words. He felt his impulses and an inexplicable irritation getting the best of him and he feared he might lose his control again. She, however, recovered from her surprise and asked him gently: "Are you alright, My Lord? Are you feeling better?

\- Rey!" he roared through his mask.

He was still holding her hand, his grab going painfully tight. Yet Rey seemed to ignore his instability. She brought her hand to his mask, nearly touching it.

"May I?" she asked. The emperor figured she wanted to remove his mask, but instead of an answer, he let out a menacing growl that didn't appear to intimidate Rey anyways. She seemed a tad more confident and brave than she was lately.

She unexpectedly bent down and delicately removed her shoes, tucking on her heels then pulling them to deposit them neatly behind her. She put her free hand on his shoulder and slowly, she placed one bare foot then the other over his booted ones. When she pushed on her toes to reach his masked face and deliberately deposit a light kiss on it, Kylo Ren sighed in delight.

She withdrew and smiled shyly at him with hooded eyes. He let go of her hand to remove his mask. She cautiously held on his shoulders while he freed himself from the helmet before he threw it away carelessly on the floor. He held her diamond-shaped face between his hands and crushed his lips against hers, tasting for the first time the mouth he kept imagining over and over again. Rey closed her eyes and moved her lips diligently against his and he was elated by her eagerness. His hands went down slowly to reach the groove in her back and she gasped when he forcibly brought her against him.

Their kiss was everything and yet nothing like he had imagined. She was as exquisite and intoxicating as he hoped but far more participative than he would have guessed. She stroked the back of his head while her mouth danced against his own, soft, inviting. He tasted her lips with his tongue but he couldn't get over her clenched teeth. He abstained from forcing her to open her mouth, ravishing instead in the sweetness of the moment and keeping his touches gentle and unhurried. He encouraged her with his hand to bend backward and she complied. He followed her forward, refusing to let go of her lips. They soon were tangled in a strange position that only emphasised the impression of vertigo that the emperor was experiencing.

They kissed and they kissed until they had eventually to catch their breath. With their faces nearly touching, Rey gazed into Kylo Ren's eyes with an inscrutable expression, as if she didn't know how to react. He wondered how something could feel so calming and so exhilarating at the same time. Rey's kiss was just like her. It brought the best and the worst in him.

He wanted to kiss her again, but when he was to join their lips again, her eyes caught the new scar he had on his temple. She frowned in concern and hesitantly brought a trembling hand to touch it. She gulped and asked him:

"Does it still hurt?

\- No. It will be gone soon".

She nodded but seemed sorry. She looked down, now less confident then when she kissed him. It brought back his sentiment of irritation and he grabbed her chin to force her to look at him again.

"Stop feeling sorry for me Rey. I am not a frail man you have to worry about.

\- That is not what I see".

He quirked his eyebrow and tried to have a better look at her face by tilting his head to the side.

"What do you see then?

\- I see a man I want to know better".

A ragged breath left Kylo Ren's chest. He didn't predict Rey's answer nor her kissing him again. She did it unhurriedly, her sparkling eyes closing and an expression of hope appearing on her face. He imitated her and let his eyelids fall while he let himself indulge in the caress of her lips. She was still tiptoeing over his feet, but it only made him appreciate the moment more. He held her even closer, his palms drawing small circles against her back, her hands massaging his scalp.

This time, she allowed him to take the lead and invited his tongue in her mouth. He became feral and invaded her, lapping against her tongue and her palate. She moaned but didn't withdraw. She even tried to imitate him and pushed against him to explore his mouth in return. He smiled. She always did that, even when they fought. She would always mimic him and use his own moves against him. But this was one fight she wasn't going to win. He sucked her lower lip between his teeth and bit it, drawing the swollen piece of flesh with him while he move his face away. When he let go, she licked her lips bashfully and avoided his insistent lustful eyes:

"I will show you, Rey, what kind of man I really am".

Even in the dim light, he could distinguish the blush that spread on her freckled face. Her voice trembled, tough her answer stunned him with its audaciousness:

"I am looking forward to it, My Lord".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry, but did I already say that I love you, dear readers? The comments, the bookmarks and the over 100 kudoes? You are just amazing! Yes, I am becoming like an overbearing girlfriend who checks her phone for any updates when I post a new chapter and I struggle to not squeal in joy when I am in public every time I receive a new e-mail from AO3. True story. 
> 
> I am very eager to know about your impressions, now that, you know, they have "broken the tension" between them. Don't worry, there is still plenty of tension to break on the upcoming chapters. I nearly called this chapter "Kylo Ren should never wear red again and just stick to black". 
> 
> Smooches, or whatever enthusiastic girlfriends put at the end of their messages. I am really terrible at this type of things.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tension arises between Hux and Rey as a man is suspected of the assassination attempt on the emperor.

The craziest rumours run around Coruscant about the emperor. Some pretended an explosion crippled him, others assumed that he was dead and that his government was hiding the news from the public. A special session had been organised at the imperial senate to discuss the matter.

“I assure you, the emperor is alive”, insisted Senator Aki. Despite the usual influence of his charisma and eloquence, the politician struggled to convince his fellow senate members.

“How can you be so sure?” persisted the senators around him. “The Emperor hasn’t been seen outside the palace for days!

\- On the contrary! He addressed the people of Naboo not two days ago. Thousands of citizens gathered to see him at the palace’s courtyard.

\- Were you there Senator Aki?” asked a senator scornfully.

Another politician pushed the mockery even further: “With the mask he constantly wears, it would be so easy to pass a surrogate for the real emperor.

\- I was there!” cried out a feminine voice, sparkling a wave of tumult through the senate.

Those who had a good angle of view could distinguish the figure of a dark knight under one of the alcoves. She was tall and slender, her arms crossed, she casually rested against the wall. She took a few steps forward so she could be better seen and heard by the assembly. The mask she wore was of a very primitive design and didn’t have a voice modulator. Yet her voice was powerful enough to reverberate through the chamber:

“I know The Emperor personally and I can tell you that it was really him who addressed the people of Naboo, two days ago. Or maybe do you also doubt my words?

\- I beg your pardon, but would you please introduce yourself to the senate before you address it?” instructed the head of the senate, a vain character who cared more about propriety than real issues.

“Certainly! I am Io Ren, of The Knights of Ren. I have been sent by The Emperor to investigate the presence of eventual decedents here, in Coruscant”.

The revelations of Io Ren had a definite impact on the politicians’ resolve.

“Believe us Lady Io; we are truly relieved to know that The Emperor is in good health”, ventured one of the senators who stood up to Senator Aki previously, rendered more lenient by the chill that traversed his spine. “We were merely worried by all the rumours that circulated.

\- You should be worried! If The Emperor were to disappear, this senate would crumble. I wish you would remember that”.

Senators cried out all at once in indignation, plunging the chamber into tumult. Io Ren didn’t care the least and was far from ready to offer the apologies that were demanded of her by the assembly. She turned around and left the main hall to head toward the offices that were always reserved to the emperor and his entourage.

On her way in the corridors, she encountered a tall middle-aged blond man, a senator whose tired eyes followed her almost expectedly. She ignored him and continued on her path. She'll get to talk to him eventually. Her brother was after all as good a suspect as any.

__________________

Hux had everything set in place. He only had to inform the emperor now. When he enquired about his whereabouts, the guards told him that he was at the training compound, which didn't surprise him but still compelled him to roll his eyes resignedly.

Since he recovered enough to be able to exercise again, Kylo Ren had being frequenting the palace's training facilities more than he ever did before. Even if he never really were a warrior himself, Hux could rely to the need to test one’s physical limits to push away the feelings of vulnerability. The emperor needed to convince himself again of his own strength and thus rebuff his own mortality.

What actually annoyed the general was that Kylo Ren had resumed his training sessions with the Jedi. Although there were guards constantly with them, the emperor and Lady Rey spent a remarkable amount of time in each other's company, making General Hux wary of the influence that the former member of The Resistance might have on the ruler.

Even though Hux kept a close eye on her, Rey remained elusive. She slept through his fingers like water and it wasn’t the shifty reports that her handmaiden was given him that could help him figure out what she was really up to. Because, he was utterly convinced that she was hiding something, now more than ever.

Her behaviour had changed lately, so imperceptibly that it took someone as perceptive as Hux to notice it. She didn’t act as meekly as she used to, her submissive demeanour replaced by more gentle manners. She looked more confidently into people’s eyes and exhaled a very subtle feeling of comfort. It made him suspicious and frustrated. Nothing irritated him more than not having a full clear picture of what was happening around him.

He could wait until the emperor was done training but the general had just no idea how long it would take. Hux reluctantly made his way to the training complex and was happy enough to meet General Phasma. She was one of the rare people he respected and the even rarer ones he actually liked - even though, in Hux’s vocabulary “like” had a very mild meaning. She had been very satisfactory when she used to be his subordinate and she had become a very good listener now that she had been promoted.

She greeted him with a collusive smile.

“Are you coming from the training complex?” he asked her.

“Yes. I was with The Emperor and Lady Rey, although I must confess that they didn’t seem to have any use for me.

\- They spend an awful lot of time together lately”.

Phasma had a very soft laugh. She seemed amused by the situation.

“I suppose that they share a bond that is very hard to deny”, she suggested.

“A bond?

\- They used to be adversaries. Some enemies fight each other for so long they develop some kind of… familiarity. I can see it when they train together.

\- Do you think that they are sleeping together?

\- Well, I am not observant enough to detect that”, Phasma joked.

Hux frowned his brows and she looked at him with curiosity.

“Would it be a bad thing if The Emperor were to be involved with Lady Rey?

\- What do _you_ think?

\- I cannot really tell. Although, it wouldn’t surprise me if they became lovers. They are both force-sensitive and maybe The Emperor needs someone like her beside him in this time of distress.

\- You think he is in distress? Because of the assassination attempt?

\- I think he has been struggling since he has become the new emperor.

\- Phasma, you may pretend to be bad at it, but I think you are _very_ perceptive!”

General Hux crooked his eyebrow, amused, and General Phasma tilted her head to thank him before leaving him to attend to her own duties.

__________________

Before he even reached the threshold of the training complex, Hux could hear the voices of Kylo Ren and his partner in training. The distorted baritone of the emperor was unmistakable while he screamed and whined under the effort. Rey was equally loud and when he got a full view of them, Hux understood why they were making so much noise. They had a saber in each of their hands and they fought in an impressively aggressive way.

The General turned his attention to the guards watching the two belligerents. They seemed calm and unalarmed by the duel taking place before them. Then again, Hux doubted the imperial guards’ capacity to ever react in time to danger.

The intensity of the fight was staggering and Hux failed to understand how it could be considered training. Nevertheless, when Kylo Ren saw him standing in the training complex, he simply ended the combat. Rey stopped her ongoing attack, obeying to a tacit order.

The emperor came up and enquired about Hux’s presence. With his arms bare and the mask he was wearing, he positively looked like a warrior, or a savage by the officer’s standards.

“We might have found the culprit”, announced proudly the general.

“ _Might_ have found the culprit?

\- We have a witness!”

Hux smugness altered when he noticed that Rey was listening with interest. He grimaced at her and urged Kylo Ren:

“Maybe we should discuss this in a more private place, My Lord”.

The emperor didn’t react to his allusions. He just asked his general to go wait for him at his quarters while he changed.

__________________

There wasn’t a part of the palace that Kylo Ren disliked more than the throne room. He didn’t want a throne, that’s the kind of ruler he wanted to be; one that could inspire the respect of his people not through empty symbols of power but because of his strength and sheer charisma. Besides, it reminded him too much of Snoke and it was the last person he wanted to think of.

The room was always used for official circumstances, and that alone invoked tedium. Today though, the occasion was very crucial.

The emperor sat on his throne while the man accused of attempting to murder him was brought to him. Dignitaries, military and palace’s staff spread through the hall to see the person who dared to attack their fearsome master. Two imperial guards pushed the broken man forward, poking him violently with their staffs, until he crumbled before Kylo Ren.

“Is this the man who tried to kill me?” he asked, almost ceremoniously, after he got off his chair.

Undignified gasps and whispers filled the room. General Hux, how stood beside the throne along with other highly ranked officers, answered clearly enough for the whole audience to hear.

“He is one of the men who took part in the construction of the stage during the Spring Festival. A witness saw him tampering with your seat, my lord.

\- Where is this witness?”

General Hux signaled one of his soldiers to bring forward a little girl who looked as alarmed as the suspect of the attack.

“This child is the witness?” asked Kylo Ren in disbelieve, echoing the thought of many among the crowd.

“Yes, My Lord. She distinctly saw this man fiddling with the seat, probably to hide the explosives!

\- Is that so, little girl?” the emperor addressed the girl in a surprisingly comforting way.

The girl nodded diffidently but it was enough for Kylo Ren to roar at the suspect:

“You tried to kill _me_? Why? How ordered you to do it?

\- I didn’t, My Lord”, pleaded the man in a feeble voice.

“Don’t worry, My Lord”, said Hux, ignoring the denial of the suspect. “He will talk sooner or later.

\- No!”

The general and the ruler were utterly baffled to hear someone from the audience interject. They both searched the faces of the spectators until Rey came forward and stood firm beside the accused.

“I can tell you if this man is really the one who tried to kill the emperor. I can read his mind. We both do, My Lord”.

There was something accusatory in Rey’s voice. Her eyes sparkled with determination and she looked every bit like the Rey who Kylo Ren used to fight.

“Let me see in his mind, My Lord, and we will know for sure if he’s the culprit”.

The emperor considered her request for a long moment. He wasn’t certain if he should be mad at her for intervening, but somehow it intrigued him to see her finally acting as she used to during the war.

“Alright!”

Hux’s eyes went wide with shock. He couldn’t fathom what could make the emperor act against their own plan. He watched, powerless, as Rey sat next to the suspect and asked him gently to allow her to look into his mind.

Rey placed her fingers against the man’s temples then concentrated. The intrusion clearly caused him pain and apprehension run through the crowd. It didn’t last long, however, as she delicately withdrew her hands and smiled at the frightened man.

“This man has nothing to do with the attack, My Lord. He is innocent”, she declared while keeping her eyes on the falsely accused.

The spectators were impressed by Rey’s feat and some of them dared to cheer and applaud. The emperor took a few steps towards her and offered her his hand. She took it and he helped her get up. They both stood facing the enthusiastic crowd while he leaned and whispered only for her to hear:

“Never try to do that again, you hear me?”

Rey anxiously tried to get away but he held her tight with a clenching hand on her shoulder.

__________________

Hux was furious, and it is a euphemism. He never thought that the Jedi would interfere with his plan and his own lack of foresight infuriated him. It reminded him of the war and the way The Resistance kept preventing him from achieving his goals, destroying his weapons, sabotaging his most elaborate strategies.

He yelled at his subordinates to leave him alone as soon as he reached his offices. His anger didn’t explode into destructive behaviour like Ren’s, which made it even more frightening to witness. He just mumbled, threatning his invisible enemies with the most atrocious revenge scenarios, red-faced, pacing around the room, menacing to implode.

After a long period when he lost the perception of time in his fury, he heard one of his aides coming in.

“What?” he shouted.

“Lady Rey is here to see you, Sir?”

It was probably the last person he would have expected at that precise moment. It was the second time she took him by surprise this day.

“Tell her to come in”, he ordered, miraculously recovering some of his calm. He refused to seem destabilized.

Rey entered the offices of General Hux. She had a wary expression and addressed him without diversion:

“General Hux, I am here to ask you to let the little girl go.

\- The little girl?

\- The witness. She has obviously been forced into false testimony. She never saw the man putting the explosives under the emperor’s seat for the simple reason that he wasn’t even there. He is just an unlucky engineer whose only fault is to drink too much”.

Hux snorted spitefully. He was growing tired of Rey’s righteousness.

“You think that you have done something good, Jedi, but you have no idea how complex the situation is. It is essential for the emperor to find a culprit for the attack, and soon. Otherwise, he will be the one to suffer the consequences.

\- And it doesn’t matter if he condemns an innocent man?

\- It is just a detail!”

The general’s lips quivered into a dreadful grimace, something between a malicious smile and a threatening sneer. Rey sustained his gaze proudly, insensitive to his vicious intimidation.

“The little girl has nothing to do with this. Let her go”, she demanded again.

Hux stepped towards her and with evident satisfaction, he said to Rey’s face: “No”.

__________________

“Are you mad at me?” Rey asked Kylo Ren while they walked together in the gardens.

The emperor surprised her by joining her promenade today. The imperial guards and her handmaiden followed them closely this time, but kept enough distance for them to discuss without being heard.

“No. Not anymore”, he reassured her.

He walked next to her with his hands behind his back. He was the image of the gallant admirer, adapting his steps to her speed and letting her decide their path through the gardens.

“I’ve seen enough innocent people being sentenced for crimes they didn’t commit, back when I lived on Jakku”.

Kylo Ren hummed sympathetically.

There was an awkward silence between them, as if both of them hesitated to ask something of the other. Rey was the one to talk first:

“Will the man be released, now that you know that he’s innocent?

\- Yes”, he answered simply.

“And the witness?” she added, affecting ignorance.

\- I suppose so. Why do you ask?

\- I keep thinking about her, about the reason she would lie.

\- You think she had been forced to?

\- There must be a reason why she would do that”.

The emperor stopped abruptly and tilted his head in realisation.

“You want me to free her and whomever person Hux is keeping prisoner to compel her to testify.”

Rey hesitated than nodded, seeming somehow ashamed.

“Why would I do that, Rey? Tell me.

\- Because it is the right thing to do.

\- You know who used to say that to me? My mother. She always had those ready-made phrases that didn’t bare any sense to throw at my face”.

Rey was silent for a few seconds. She looked down at the floor and said:

“I can’t ignore those I am able to help.

\- Is this why you saved me? Out of principle?”

She lifted her head immediately and her eyes betrayed her distress.

“I…I didn’t want you to die.

\- Why? When I know that you are doing everything to deceive me.

\- It is not true!

\- You seem to care for other people more than you care for me. Isn’t Rey?

\- No. You are wrong. I do…I care for you”.

Kylo Ren’s starting anger faded at the revelation. He caught Rey’s hands and started muttering frantically:

“I lied Rey. I am mad at you, for showing your true nature for the sake of that man. I hated seeing you touching him and reading his thoughts. I wished he would burn on the spot. Do you know, Rey, what you do to me? _You_ are making me mad.

\- It wasn’t my intention”, she replied, shaking her head, seemingly overwhelmed by Kylo Ren’s confession.

He let go of her, his fervor replaced by a wicked determination.

“How will you persuade me to forgive you, Rey?”

Rey stared at him with her impossibly innocent eyes.

“Will you come to see me tonight, at my quarters?”

She smiled and looked away blushingly.

“That isn’t much of an obligation, My Lord”, she teased and it pleased him.

__________________

It felt like a secret wedding to the three handmaidens. When Rey asked them to help her prepare for her rendezvous with the emperor, they all knew what that implied:

“It is finally happening!” chirped Sana almost too enthusiastically while she prepared a bath for her mistress.

“Keep quite Sana!” warned her Tania.

Sana clicked her tongue, undignified:

“As if you weren’t thinking the same thing. Even Lyn knows what a late meeting like this means.

\- I wouldn’t know”, tried to interject Lyn, but her shy little voice didn’t seem to reach Sana’s reddened ears.

“Stop pretending. Acting prude doesn’t suit you Tania.

\- I am only asking you to be a bit more discreet.

\- Discreet? The emperor wasn’t discreet when he dragged Lady Rey in the gardens in front of Lyn and the guards”.

Lyn lowered her gaze, as if she were to blame for the now infamous incident.

“He wasn’t discreet either when he nearly tore her gown apart and covered her neck with love bites. One must be blind not to see what is coming”.

Sana concluded with a huff, like a point at the end of her argument. Tania wasn’t as excitable as her friend and she just rolled her eyes, resigned.

That’s  when Lady Rey came into the bathroom. It was apparent that she was a little nervous, but she and her handmaidens shared a common feeling of anticipation, as if something important was about to happen.

Rey didn’t stay long in the bath. It wasn’t the time to indulge in the activity. This time, it was purely utilitarian as she only needed to get ready for her meeting.

Before they clothed her, Tania approached her with a bottle of flower extract. Rey smiled approvingly and the handmaiden started applying the scented water on her mistress’ skin. Lyn brought her underwear and was about to help her put them on when Rey stopped her:

“No need for those. Just the robe”.

Sana smiled smugly at her two friends, satisfied to be proven right. She grabbed the robe and deployed it behind Rey so she could slip her hands in the large sleeves.

Lady Rey closed the garment in the front and knotted the waistband. It was a long and ample robe made of a colorful fabric displaying a circular motif reminiscent of a solar system or a flowery garden. Kylo Ren sent it to her as one of the many gifts that piled up in her rooms.

Tania helped Rey brush her hair and arrange it into a simple long braid. She suggested to add an elegant silver pin and Rey complied with a resignation that concerned her handmaiden.

Lyn brought a large round mirror and held it clumsily in front of her mistress to let her see the result. Rey’s mouth’s corners quirked up but there was apprehension in her eyes. Tania, who was still behind her and could clearly see her reflection, ventured a compliment, trying to give her courage:

“You are gorgeous, My Lady!”

Sana came closer and stared over Rey’s shoulder at the reflection:

“It is true, Lady Rey. Beautiful enough to turn an emperor’s head!”

Tania hit Sana’s side with her elbow. Rey didn’t scold her, however. She smiled at her maids in the mirror instead, and for them it was better than a thank you. Lyn trembled despite her best efforts to hold the heavy mirror still, so Rey thanked her and apologized for making her carry it for so long.

The three handmaiden watched their mistress leave and they felt like mothers whose daughter was leaving her home to join her husband. Despite that none of them had children, they knew now how bittersweet such moment could feel.

_______________________

The two guards were expecting Lady Rey’s arrival. Without uttering a word, they opened the red door to the imperial chambers for her. She got inside the vestibule and, as she gained the habit now, she waited for another door to open and to guide her to where she had to go. The _whoosh_ led her to a room she never visited before. She entered and discovered a blue area with many artworks displayed all over.

Kylo Ren was sitting on a chair directly facing the door. He didn’t have a mask on and donned instead a satisfied grin, his face resting casually on the back of his hand.

Rey’s attention flickered between the emperor and the abstract paintings and sculptures that surrounded them, her expression vacillating between awe and incomprehension.

“I like abstract art because it doesn’t try to vainly imitate the beauty of nature. It goes straight for the truth”, explained the emperor without any kind of preamble.

Rey nodded then finally concentrated her attention on him.

“Come a little closer, Rey.” he invited her and she took a few hushed steps towards him, her calves showing temptingly through the hems of her long robe, until she was at an arm’s long away from Kylo Ren. It would have been easy for him to take hold of her and pull her towards him, but he was determined. He decided that tonight he would savour every moment with her and prove to her, and to himself, his willpower.

He looked up at her, amused by her apparent hesitancy.

“Do you want me to remove your clothes, Rey?”

A blush spread instantly on her cheeks. She swallowed so hard that he couldn’t miss the movement of the muscles of her throat. She was tangibly anxious and fretful.

“I won’t make the same mistake that I did last time. I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to”.

He brought his hand to her cheek and drew small circles with his thumb under her eye.

“Do you trust me?” he murmured and she looked at him with a determination he didn’t expect of her as of late.

Rey peered into the emperor’s eyes and it thrilled him to no end. She undid the knot that held her robes closed by herself, compelling him to look down while the gown opened up slowly to reveal the naked skin underneath.

The clothing still hanging onto Rey’s shoulders, the hems spread far enough for Kylo Ren to delve in the delightful view of her body. His eyes roamed between the swells of her breasts then traveled down to her pulsating thorax, passed her navel and stopped at the thatch of dark hair between her thighs.

Kylo Ren felt an agonizing pressure build up in his chest. His ears started ringing, like when anger was menacing to take over, although he knew his feelings to be quite different. He pushed himself to the edge of his seat and slid his hands under the hems of Rey’s robe ever so prudently, afraid to startle her as if she were a wild bird.

He spread his palms over her hips, realizing that his hands must have felt very cold against her skin as she gasped quietly. He moved his hands up, following the delicate curves of her torso, his eyes ascending until they reached her face. The flush was darker, her mouth agape and her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Kylo Ren groaned with hunger and ferociously pushed the cloth from Rey’s shoulders. He exhaled for a mere second while he gave himself the opportunity to admire her full figure. He had tried to imagine her naked body repeatedly and she resolutely surpassed any of his expectations.

Her skin had the same shade of caramel candy he used to love when he was a child. A few scars marred her body but instead of spoiling her beauty, it made it more appealing, unique. She was an exquisite paradox, all at once fragile and powerful. Her toned muscles told of many stories of survival and combat while her delicate curves implied innocence and a need to be loved.

Taking her hands into his, he pulled her towards him, forcing her to sit on his knees, her legs hanging on one side of his thighs.

The smell of flowers reached his nostrils and lured him to dive his nose into the crook of her neck.

“You smell so divine. You always have!”

Rey was out of words. Kylo Ren didn’t mind that she was still not as eloquent as she used to be. He was resolved to make her loose her docile act eventually. With his lips against her cheek, he murmured:

“I am so glad you are here Rey. I am so glad you survived. I kept hoping you were still alive after the war ended.

\- My Lord…”

Before she could say more, he clasped the back of her head, put his other hand on her chest, and encouraged her to bend backward.

Rey brought her brows up in incomprehension. Still, she followed obediently the movement of his hands as they twisted her spine until she was curved like a bow. She stretched her arms and legs to touch the floor while her back rested on her knees, the tension of her muscles accentuated into a position that could have been unbearable to someone less flexible than she was.

The emperor admired the movement of the taunt muscles of her abdomen. He put his hands on her stomach then started moving them in a mirror-like fashion over her skin. The friction created a luscious sound that reminded him of the wind blowing delicately through the leaves. The melody of her breath enchanted his ears. She was like an instrument and he felt like an artist experiencing the most pleasurable and gratifying experience he could get.

He explored her body with the palms of his hands, one going down between her legs and the other up her chest. Her face was red and her thorax moved rapidly as her breathing became more and more irregular. She didn’t however complain or attempt to change her position. She kept still, up until Kylo Ren put his hand over one of her breasts. It delectably filled his palm with its softness, her nipple coming at attention at his touch. She whined and twitched and when his other hand caressed her slit, she shook her head violently as if she wanted to get free of invisible confines. Still, she remained in place encouraging him to pursue his ministrations.

Kylo Ren touched her between her legs and distinctly felt the wetness that resided there. He laughed in satisfaction and sought to reward her for her eagerness. He flicked his thumb against the little piece of flesh peeking outside her glistening lips just like a musician striking a string, causing her entire body to tremble, and then dipped his index inside her pulsating orifice. He did it very slowly and with much caution but Rey seemed nonetheless overwhelmed by the sensation.

“No, oh no!” she yelped.

He withdrew his hand promptly and asked her earnestly, although his voice sounded shaky to his own ears:

“Do you want me to stop?”

She lifted her head to offer him an apologetic look:

“No. Please, don’t stop. I am sorry.

\- Is it too much for you?

\- It is _almost_ too much”.

Kylo Ren laughed as he so rarely allowed himself to.

“I am not used to such things, My Lord”, continued Rey. Sweet innocent Rey.

He carefully slid his hand between her legs and she spread them this time to better accommodate him, slowly bending her spine again so she’d regain her bridge posture. He plunged his finger inside her and she tried unsuccessfully to retain a lascivious moan by biting her bottom lip.

Kylo Ren started moving his digit in and out of her warm pussy while he kneaded her breasts one after the other. He felt his own excitement growing at the sound of Rey’s cries. The feeling of her inner walls, the discovery of that secret part of her anatomy entranced him. She squirmed under his touch and it made him bold. He joined a second finger inside of her and roughly circled his thumb against her clit. She cried out and clawed the floor desperately.

Kylo Ren closed his eyes to appreciate the music of her wanton yelps. They soon became more articulated:

“My Lord, yes...you...ah!”

But  not by much.

His fingers moved inside of her to reach further secret muscles. When he opened his eyes, he saw the muscles of her pelvis rippling and he noticed the flush over her neck and chest.

“Did you ever imagine it, Rey? Did you imagine me doing this to you before?

\- Yes!” she breathed with difficulty, now pushing her legs against the floor, her body tensing even more than he had thought possible.

“You thought of me, touching you, pleasuring you?

\- Yes, ah!”

Her voice sounded surprisingly high-pitched. Pleasure distorted it in an unrecognisable way and it enthralled him like a bewitching melody.

“You thought of me fucking you while we were still fighting as enemies!

\- Yes!” she screamed almost shamefully and he felt her inner walls closing around his fingers, fluttering uncontrollably and signaling the orgasm that hit her violently.

The emperor gazed down at Rey approvingly, his nostrils flaring with satisfaction. He felt an unfamiliar clarity, his senses acute like they rarely were, as if everything became clear and uncomplicated. The invasion or the assassination attempt seemed inconsequential. He only cared about her and admired her while she slowly came down from her high.

He was almost disappointed to let his slick fingers slip out of her, yet he smiled at her fondly when she looked up at him, more bashful now than when she came in the room. With his hand under her neck, he lifted her up then brought her exhausted and malleable body against his.

“You are magnificent!” he praised her then clasped her face in his hands to examine her eyes, unintentionally covering her cheek with her own juices. Seeing how she gasped when she felt the wetness on her skin, he leaned closer and licked her face clean. He felt primal, animalistic, her skin hot and musky under his tongue.

Rey snuggled between his arms. It was such a tender and fragile moment, the kind Kylo Ren missed during his childhood when he most needed it.

“Is it true what you said? That you thought of us as lovers even when we were enemies?

\- Uh Hum”.

Now that she wasn’t delirious with lust, Rey seemed ashamed to admit it.

“I have never told anyone before!” she added and Kylo Ren clasped her face to make her look at him.

“You can tell me anything Rey. With me, you can be whomever you want to be. With me, you are free”.

The absurdity of his statement hung in the air. They feel silent and Rey, looking a bit sad, nuzzled against Kylo Ren’s chest while he sighed, overcome by a feeling of guilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super quick update! 
> 
> This is quite unusual but you are such lovely readers and I wanted to share with you this chapter as soon as I finished it. I figured I teased you enough! 
> 
> I must confess I am pretty anxious to know your impressions on the... *cough, cough*...sex scene. I hope you forgive my weird take on Michelangelo's Pietà (and I made it weirder by refrencing a religious sculpture, didn't I?). I have to warn you, though, I like writing about strange sex positions, so brace yourself for the upcoming smut. 
> 
> I forgot to tell you that I am on Tumblr: [lastmouseleft.tumblr.com](http://lastmouseleft.tumblr.com/), so if you were to send me a message about this fic or just to say "Hi", I would be delighted!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Kylo Ren spend some time together.  
> They talk, among other things.

 

Rey let Kylo Ren carry her into his room. She sheltered her head in the crook of his armpit and looked at him shyly through the hair locks that fell over her face. She was a little wild animal, so light and delicate in his arms, though he couldn’t deny the fierceness that she concealed.

When they came into the large room, her eyes were immediately attracted by the domed glass ceiling. He carefully put her down on her legs and she immediately stepped closer to his floor-leveled bed to have a better look at the starry heavens, like a fly allured by a treacherous light.

“I would have thought you were used to that. Jakku must have had the most impressive night skies” Kylo Ren commented amusingly.

“It has been so long!” she confessed although without sadness.

She felt a movement, the sound of crumpled fabric and she turned swiftly to see the emperor removing his clothes. As he discarded his long coat, she went to take refuge behind one of the four columns in the room. She hid against the pillar and peeked discretely to observe him while he disrobed slowly, putting a show just for her. He could see that she was still looking at him, clearly intrigued by his body.

He removed his top and her eyes sparkled at the sight of his chiselled muscles and the scars that marred his pale skin. His boots were next to go before he reached for the hem of his pants. He tugged at his waistband and lowered them deliberately slow over his hips, revealing to her the accentuated crease between his pelvis and thigh. He saw her bit the side of her lower lip and a wolfish smile spread on his full lips when his pants clang to the protruding form between his legs. He fixed her and his eyes held her gaze prisoner as he suddenly pulled the garment completely down.

Rey gasped and blushed furiously when she took in the sight of his throbbing cock, angry and ready to attack. It snapped any kind of restraint that he had left in him. He all but soared towards her as she playfully escaped, laughing seductively. With his long legs, it only took him a couple of steps before he got hold of her, seizing her by the waist and shoving her over his shoulder.

He kissed her thigh as she half-heartedly slapped his back, struggling to contain her giggles. He stepped over the mattress and when he arrived at the center of the bed, he knelt down and delicately helped her slide over his shoulder and settle on his lap.

Rey looked at his chest, timidly avoiding his eyes. She sat with her legs on either side of his thighs but she kept a distance between them, visibly avoiding touching his intimidating member.

“Are you afraid of me?” he asked drily as he clasped her cheek and forced her to meet his eyes.

“Don't you know I've always feared you My Lord?

  - Why? Do you fear I would hurt you?

  - I fear you would corrupt me”.

Her answer sparkled a twisted sense of satisfaction in him. He crushed his mouth against hers and kissed her passionately. He tasted her lips and slipped his tongue carefully into her mouth.

While he was kissing her, Kylo Ren opened his eyes to examine Rey’s face. He discovered how concentrated she looked, as if she were executing some instructions. The blush on her face and the delicious moans that escaped her lips convinced him of the sincerity of her kiss though. He thought it adorable, even, how she applied herself to please him.

Rey opened her eyes too and realised that her lover was smiling with his lips still against hers. She looked suddenly ashamed and interrupted their kiss, turning her head to the side. He frowned but he didn’t have the chance to protest as she quickly brought her mouth to his chest and started licking his nipple. She placed her hands on his pectorals and lapped at his sensitive flesh, her action so wanton and still managing to keep an air of perfect innocence.

Kylo Ren clasped the back of her head and encouraged her clumsy though enthusiastic attentions.

“Rey…” he breathed as he tilted his head backwards. “Where did you learn to do this?”

She stopped suddenly and with an evident embracement in her voice, she stated:

“You don’t like it.

 - No! I like it. I like it very much!” he reassured her, peering directly into her eyes. “It’s just…I have the feeling you are following some guidelines”.

Her whole face became red and her pupils danced from one corner of her eyes to the other.

“I am not very…experienced, My Lord”, she confessed in a tiny muffled voice.

“Is it your first time?” he asked tenderly, but she hesitated for a long moment and answered rather unexpectedly:

“No.”

Jealousy flared inside his chest in a breath like an angry furnace. He grabbed her arms tightly and asked through clenched teeth:

“Who was it?”

Her alarm distorted her face but her imploring eyes didn’t placate his temper.

“Tell me Rey! Was it the traitor? Or one of your _friends_ from The Resistance?”

Her expression shifted suddenly from incomprehensive to judgemental. She scowled at him with resentment and he was surprised to feel so excited by her defiance.

Rey tried to push Kylo Ren away but he held her tightly.

“Let me go”, she protested.

“Why do you refuse to tell me? What are you hiding from me?

\- This is ridiculous!”

As she fought to get free of his grip, twitching violently, she managed to fall on her back and bring Kylo Ren forward with her. He laid over her, trapping her under his imposing form. Tears of frustration gathered in her eyes but she bravely kept them from shedding.

“You want to know? Fine! He was a traveler, visiting Jakku. There were always explorers and adventurers passing by Niima outpost, either lost or crazy enough to want to explore a desolate part of a forsaken planet. He was different though. He seemed so refined and gentle. I helped him get a part he needed and he invited me back to the room he rented during his stay. I knew what he wanted, but it didn’t frighten me. I wanted the same thing. I wanted to try for one time what it felt to be loved…I didn’t want to die without knowing what it meant”.

Rey’s voice vacillated and Kylo Ren’s heart clenched painfully in remorse.

“It was raw and sad. I never felt so lonely in my life. He left after that and I never saw him again”.

Kylo Ren’s mouth moved but no sound came out. He deflated, all his anger gone and replaced a crushing sense of shame. He should apologize, he wanted to, but for Kylo Ren there wasn’t a greater sign of weakness. Even as a child, he detested offering excuses, especially when his parents forced him to –and they often did. They couldn’t comprehend the dismay it caused him to acknowledge his own flaws.

“I got jealous!” he explained to Rey, and it was the best he could do.

“Can I go now, My Lord?”

He winced and his disarray was greater than she could imagine. He feared that he had broken the fresh frail bond between them, that he had severed their relationship before it had even started.

He rolled on his side and watched her as she crawled away from him. Rey got off the bed and he did the same, looking desperate. He went to the pile of his discarded clothes on the floor to grab his coat and then went to place it over Rey’s shivering shoulders. She let him but refused to look at his face.

The coat was far too big for her and it hang down to the floor. She tightened it around her, defeated, and turned around to get to the door when Kylo Ren grasped her hand firmly and forced her to face him again.

“Don’t leave! I don’t want you to leave!” his tone was imploring and the desperate kisses he peppered over her face told her the words he wasn’t able to speak.

Rey softened. She relaxed her shoulders. He caressed the shell of her ear with his soft lips and whispered:

“I don’t care about your past. I really don’t. I just want you now.

 - Now? What will you do with me when you get what you want?”

Confused, he examined her to be certain she were serious and he fathomed how dubious and afraid she felt.

“You think I would cast you away after we would be together?”

She nodded timidly and he snorted in disbelief:

“My beautiful precious Rey, how can you believe that? Have you any idea how much I have wanted you? I have thought about you since the moment I lead eyes on you. Do you remember? On Takodana?”

Rey licked her lips and nodded again while he stroked her face with the back of his knuckles, leaning slightly to bring his face closer to hers.

“When you kissed me in the gardens, I have dreamt of that moment so many times, yet it turned out a thousand times better than my mind could ever conceive. I would never get enough of your lips”.

He illustrated his words by offering her a short yet adoring kiss.

“I have never met someone like you, Rey. My world was never the same after that day on Takodana. You have changed me and I could never replace you”.

Rey brought her eyebrows together and Kylo Ren could see how moved she was by his confession. She was the one to initiate their kiss then, this time their embrace more voracious and ardent.

Rey sucked the emperor’s lower lip into her mouth and chewed on it like a ravenous little beast, as if she wanted to devour him bit by bit.

“Let me show you. Let me be your teacher!” he murmured against her mouth.

“Yes!” she breathed eagerly before taking his hand and guiding them both over the mattress again.

“You won’t reject me this time and slice my face with your saber, will you?” he joked in a rare demonstration of his dark humour.

She exploded in a manic laughter but quickly muzzled herself by slapping her mouth. She really was adorable.

He hugged her then kissed her again, encouraging her to stoop with him. They were both on their knees, struggling to part their lips, until he moved his mouth to her ear and whispered seductively:

“Do you want me to pleasure you?”

Rey looked straight ahead while he ravished her neck with bites and kisses, a mischievous smile settling on her lips and she asked:

“How?

 - I want to lick you, between your thighs!

 - Oh?

 - Did the _traveler_...” he mentioned him as if he spat some poison. “…do that to you?

 - No. But I might have seen it mentioned in a book”.

Kylo Ren smiled and continued:

“Did your book show how we can both give each other pleasure at the same time?”

She was startled by his suggestion, apparently ignorant of the practice, and it was exactly what he wanted: to guide her through new experiences, to corrupt her as she described it so well.

“Do you want to try it, my apprentice?” he asked her and she licked her lips, hesitating for the briefest moment before acquiescing:

“Yes, Master”.

The sound of her calling him that name sent a shiver to his core. He never though he would feel such excitement from hearing a simple word. His cock was already aching but it got even worse when he peered into her candid and curious eyes.

“Lay down on your side”, he instructed, his breathing heavy with lust.

Rey let the coat fall behind her, then lowered herself on her left side, placing her head over her stretched arms and innocently awaiting Kylo Ren’s further directives.

He followed through, laying just beside her but in the other direction.

“Open your thighs”, he told her and she diligently raised her crooked right leg.

He slipped his hands behind her thighs and leisurely leaned into her core, inhaling her unique aroma.

Without him telling her, she also grasped his thighs and pulled herself closer to his pulsating shaft. She understood what was expected of her very quickly and it satisfied her teacher immensely.

“Such a talented apprentice”, he complimented before languidly licking her slit.

Rey yelped loudly and it encouraged him to do it again, this time pushing his tongue deeper between her lips and finally tasting the warm wetness they concealed. She shook and moaned, seemingly forgetting in her daze about her part.

“Put your mouth around my cock, apprentice”, he ordered hoarsely.

Kylo Ren looked between them and observed how she nervously spread her lips and dipped her head towards his member and kissed the tip. He gasped and enticed her:

“More! Suck it inside your mouth. Do it and I will reward you.”

She obeyed and let her lips go further down his shaft. It was the most exquisite sensation to have her pouty little mouth around his erection, gently sliding down then up to release his length.

“Yes. Keep doing it, Rey. How does it feel?

 - It feels…soft and nice”, she confessed with her lips against the head of his cock.

He hummed approvingly before turning his attention to her sex again. He dipped his tongue in search of the little sensitive nub between her folds and had little difficulty finding it, already erect as it was. He pushed against it with the tip of his tongue and she shivered in pleasure.

Following one of his previous instructions, she sucked his member into her mouth, this time more confidently. He did the same to her clit after he offered her further directions:

“That’s it. Move your lips up and down. You are so good at this!”

With their faces buried between each other’s thighs, Kylo Ren felt the storm of emotions that usually raged inside him standing still. The Force surged between them and enveloped them protectively. The universe around them seemed perfectly balanced, as if both sides of the Force approved their union.

They both started humming, obeying to the same odd impulse. Kylo Ren explored her soft folds, as if he plucked the petals of a flower, then pressed his tongue inside her while she took him even deeper, her head bobbing at a frantic cadence. Their height difference required him to curve his spine but he barely noticed the discomfort, his senses overflown by the carnal sensations.

As he lapped the surging wetness between her folds, he recognised the distinctive tightness in his scrotum. He was about to come. He reluctantly abandoned her delicious pussy and instructed her to stop. She refused to obey though and unrelentingly sucked on his shaft, mewling as if she was savoring the most luscious treat.

“Enough, Rey!” he insisted but with no real threat in his voice.

She stopped then, letting go of his erection and looking like a child caught misbehaving.

Kylo Ren laid on his back and encouraged her to come closer.

“I want to be inside you. Would you like that, Rey?”

She bit her lip and smiled.

“Yes, Master!

 - Sit over me then”.

Zealously, she climbed over him, her thighs sprayed against his pelvis when he took her waist and turned them both upside down. She squealed like a trapped prey and he laid over her. He slipped his arm under her calf and pushed her leg up, stretching her open. With his thighs placed firmly against the mattress, he pushed his cock inside her ready core with a firm movement of his hips.

“At last! At last!” he breathed, his eyes closing at the delectable sensation of his member penetrating her tight and warm tunnel.

Rey’s body quivered as her inner muscles stretched to accommodate his girth.

“Oh, you feel so good! Better than I would ever though…Tell me Rey…Was that how you imagined it?” he asked while he settled on a deliberate pace, ramming inside her.

“No! This is far better, Master.

 - Is that true? Or are you saying it just to please me?

 - Oh no, My Lord! This is much, much better”.

They both screamed wantonly as they felt their excitement grow. Kylo Ren was already very close to his release. He realised that Rey was also approaching her completion, though. He was relieved and pumped between her sopping lips with abandon.

He felt her climax as if it was his own and it only took him a few seconds before he followed through, sending ropes of seed into her palpitating insides.

At first, they stubbornly refused to let go of one another, but their bodies had their own rules and they were forced to separate. Instead of the expected relief, Kylo Ren felt empty as he let his spent shaft slip out of his lover’s folds. He felt miserable and already missed her warmness. Not even the lovable kisses she placed all over his face could have helped him keep his disenchantment at bay.

“What’s wrong My Lord?

 - Nothing. It’s nothing”.

He turned on his side and brought her into an embrace.

“Are you unsatisfied with my…performance?

  - No. No! You were perfect Rey”.

Kylo Ren sighed and Rey didn’t try to make him talk any further. She just touched his mouth with her index, tracing the form of his lips. They fell into a comfortable silence until he suddenly asked her:

“Do you hate me Rey?”

 - What?

 - Do you hate me for destroying The Resistance? For your present condition? Do you hate me for being The Emperor? ”

She seemed very troubled and turned on her other side, her back now facing him.

“You don’t trust me. Even when I am in your arms?” she sounded hurt and upset, but Kylo Ren knew better than to let her avoid his question.

“Do _you_ trust me, Rey?”

Rey straightened up and sat on her heels, still facing away from her lover.

“Do you remember when I told that I’ve seen you before we met, in a vision?

 - Of course!

 - At first, I thought you were a nightmare, a monster”.

Kylo Ren gulped. It always hurt him to hear her call him like that.

“When I saw what you were really capable of, I became even more scared. I wanted to run away from you, then, when I understood that I couldn’t, I wanted to learn how to defeat you. I thought that if I learned to use The Force I would be able to stop you from hurting those that I loved. I went to Luke seeking his teaching to become a warrior, but he offered me much more. He taught me how to be true to myself and to my feelings. I could no longer pretend that you were only my enemy. I knew my feelings for you were much more complicated”.

She turned her head and gazed at him over her shoulder. Kylo Ren lifted his torso and sat up, silently expecting her to continue.

“I may have acknowledged those feelings, but I refused to give up to them. For me, you represented The Dark Side and I refused to surrender to it. But the more we fought, the more it was hard for me to endure all the contradictory sentiments I had towards you. I suffered so much and more than once, I wished I had never met you. I hated you then, with all my heart”.

A teardrop fell from Rey’s eye and left a wet trail over her reddened cheek.

“You were pulling me to the darkness, even when you didn’t try to. Whatever I did, you were winning. My heart was corrupted. When Snoke died and you became the new emperor, I thought it was the end for my friends and me. It turned out I was the only one to survive. I don’t know if I blame you for that more than I blame myself.

 - Why would you blame yourself, Rey?

 - For being the survivor. For being alive and being here with you when they are all dead”.

Kylo Ren brought himself closer to Rey and circled her waist with his strong arms, pulling her into a tender embrace.

“You have to let go of the past”, he said softly.

“It’s so hard”, she sobbed and her little body shook pitifully between his arms.

“I’ll chase all your pain away, if only you would let me.

 - Can you?

 - Yes. If only you would trust me”.

She stopped crying and finally turned to face him. She put her arms around his neck and he leaned forward to kiss the tears away from her eyes. She laughed softly and told him:

“I want you to trust me too.

 - Should I?

 - Of course, My Lord”.

Kylo Ren wanted to believe her words, with all his being. He wished he could trust her, but he was a deeply wounded man. Those he loved and trusted always ended up betraying him. His family lied to him, Snoke used him shamelessly and his associates and subordinated only desired one thing: to take his place. Besides, he couldn’t ignore Rey’s unusual behaviour. Her docility was undoubtedly a cloak hiding her true intensions.

They were still fighting, he was perfectly aware of that. Only the weapons and the battlefield had changed, although Kylo Ren found it far more agreeable.

“I trust you, Rey”, he lied because he simply couldn’t really trust her.

She kissed his forehead affectionately then pushed against his shoulders to help herself get up. She retrieved his discarded coat and put it on, floating inside it like a kid disguising as an adult.

“It’s very late. I’d better go back to my rooms before everyone wakes up in the palace”.

Kylo Ren snorted. He truly didn’t care the least about his subjects knowing that he slept with his former enemy. Still, he obliged and allowed her to go.

“One of the guards will escort to your rooms”.

He accompanied her to the door, not minding his nakedness. He had half a mind to knock her over and take her again, the sensation of emptiness still strong in his guts. He missed her while she was still with him, when she went through the threshold and he missed her when she disappeared behind the door and into the vestibule.

He listened carefully until he heard her talking to the guard then following him away from his quarters. He sensed her presence through The Force and tracked it through the palace until she reached her rooms. She was so close and yet the distance that separated them seemed to him overwhelming. He had the urge to go join her but he refrained. He felt like a prisoner in his own palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear readers, 
> 
> Thank you for reading and repeatedly showing me your support by commenting and giving me kudos. Believe me when I tell you that it is the most satisfying thing to have my writing read and appreciated by you.
> 
> Still, I hope I am not abusing when I ask for your assistance. I would love to have your opinion about this story. It would help me greatly if I knew what you appreciate and what you think superfluous in the plot. Would you prefer if I were to focus more on Kylo Ren and Rey’s relationship or do you enjoy all the political intrigue that goes around them? I know this chapter is very smuty and not very plot-related. 
> 
> As for the relation between Rey and Kylo Ren, I hope you like how it is progressing. I decided from the start that it won’t be a dominant/submissive kind of relationship. Not that I don't enjoy reading such stories, but I wanted to write something a bit different and challenge myself. 
> 
> In short, your comments are precious! Not only because the keep the ghosts of self-doubt at bay but because they guide me in my writing. 
> 
> Very soon, Rey’s POV.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The palace reawakens with the visit of the Pantoran delegation.

Like  nature bursts into life when the spring comes, the imperial palace bubbled with energy after a long period of lethargy. The visit of the Pantoran delegation was the occasion of a true rebirth. There had been no official visits since the events of the Spring Festival and the palace’s staff fussed around to offer the guests the best stay they could have.

The servants were everywhere, some cleaning, others carrying fresh sheets, drapery, flowers vases and plant pots to be placed in every room and at every corner. Invigorating and fresh aromas agreeably floated in the palace. In the kitchen, the cooks were already preparing the feast planned for the evening.

Kylo Ren drank in the effervescence that oozed through the walls. It reminded him of a time, back when his ambassador of a mother used to organise all those dinners and parties in honour of her colleagues. The shy and awkward child that he used to be abhorred those occasions, but even then, he already knew that they were politically essential.

As the new emperor, he complied, though reluctantly, to the diplomatic aspect of his position. He knew that his battles were no longer fought solely on the battlefield. Image and charisma were as powerful weapons as a lightsaber when it came to ruling an empire.

The visit of the Pantorans was particularly important to him. Pantoria might have been a small inconsequential moon, but its representatives still enjoyed influence in the senate. He counted on them to let the senators and the galaxy know that the attack on his life didn’t succeed in crippling him, neither physically nor morally.

As he sat in his reading room, the memory of Rey hang in the air, deliciously tormenting him, but he tried to ignore it as best as he could. He was expecting a rather important communication and had to keep his mind focused.

His meditative state was disturbed when he felt a hologram appear in front of him. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the translucent and flickering image of a tall blond woman.

“You made me wait, Io.

-Pardon me, Master Ren! I was quite occupied.

-Right. I hope you have good news to offer me.

-Indeed, My Lord. I have found the perfect candidate to be designated as the perpetrator of the Spring Festival attack”.

The hologram flickered and the static portrait of a Sullustan man replaced Io Ren’s image.

“Senator Sooro from Sullust. He is openly opposed to your rule and has expressed on multiple occasions his disapproval of your plans to pacify the Outer Rim Territories.

-Did he?” growled Kylo Ren in disdain.

“He has a history with The Resistance. He has never been part of it, but he was apparently a sympathiser”.

Kylo Ren stood up and walked towards the window, carrying the holographic projector in the palm of his hand. He looked outside at the luminous morning sky that announced a particularly hot day.

“Won’t the other senators suspect a plot against him precisely because he was close to The Resistance?

\- I don’t think so. He isn’t very _popular_ among the senate. I am certain that no one will care to defend him when he will be revealed as the culprit.

\- What about the real culprit?

\- My Lord?

\- They will care, won’t they? Will they be relieved or rather insulted when they will know that we have the wrong man?

\- Do you worry about another attack?

\- I am exasperated by the ineptitude of my officers to discover the truth!

\- The true culprit won’t be able to hide for long, Master. I am certain! However, for now, we have to move swiftly to turn the events to your advantage. Soon, the imperial senate will have no choice but to agree with all your plans.

\- Yes, soon!”

A flying form approaching in the sky caught Kylo Ren’s attention. He recognised the small yet elegant engine as the Pantoran spaceship.

“That will be all, Io. We will resume this conversation when I’ll arrive to Coruscant.

\- Yes, Master”, Io Ren bowed before her hologram collapsed and disappeared.

As soon as the room became silent again, Kylo Ren allowed the memories of the previous night to submerge him like water pouring from a broken dam.

“Rey”, he breathed, overcome by a crushing sense of longing.

___________________________________________________

Conscience came back slowly to Rey. She thought she heard _him_ calling her name, but when she opened her eyes, she saw she was alone in her room. It was dark, a single ray of light penetrating through the heavy curtains and drawing a bright line over the carpeted floor.

Rey was habitually awake before sunset and the fact that she overslept made her feel a tad disorientated. Her memory was a bit hazy. She noticed that she was still wearing the emperor’s coat.

Lyn peeked discreetly through the door and saw that her mistress was awake.

“Good morning Lady Rey!” she said softly but cheerfully.

“Good morning Lyn”, Rey yawned, rubbing her eye with the heel of her hand.

The handmaiden tiptoed inside the room and addressed a curtsy to her mistress. Rey encouraged her repeatedly to abandon such etiquettes in her presence but Lyn was a persistent one.

“Would you like me to open the curtains, My Lady?”

“Please do. Thank you, Lyn.”

When the handmaiden pushed the curtains apart, drowning the room in light, Rey had to shut her aching eyes quickly.

“What a beautiful day!” sighted Lyn in wonder.

Rey opened one eye than the other to look outside the window. The view was breathtaking. The impressive nature and the extravagant architecture of Theed never failed to captivate her. The lively colours of the burgeoning vegetation only enhanced the beauty of the Naboo capital.

It was fortunate that Lyn was the one to serve Rey this morning. The young maid was considerate and knew how to be discreet. She skilfully ignored her mistress’ unusual outfit and dishevelled state. She even had the great idea to prepare a hot bath for her mistress instead of the daily shower.

Once in the bathroom, Rey sighed as she slowly immersed her aching members into the water. She lolled her head to the side and surrendered to the soothing effect of the oils that Lyn was pouring into the bath. The way the water danced softly against her skin, oddly reminding her of the touch of Kylo Ren’s hands.

“The Pantoran delegation is expected to visit today”, Lyn casually informed her. “There will be a banquet. I am certain you will be invited, My Lady!

\- A banquet? It has been so long.

\- Indeed, My Lady. The palace is finally reawakening”.

When they came back to the room, Tania was there, changing the sheets of the bed. She greeted them both with a radiant smile.

It was time for Rey to dress up. She knew how much her servants loved that moment of the day and she gladly offered them the privilege to select her daily outfit. Rey was indeed far from being an expert on fashion and she trusted her handmaidens’ opinion in the matter far more than hers.

Today, Tania picked out a green gown and a pair of white and silver slippers. While she was rummaging for a hair accessory, Lyn helped their mistress get dressed. Corsets were particularly hard to put on and Rey was always grateful for some assistance. Starships systems and intricate machinery rarely resisted her sharp mind and her nimble fingers, but she still didn’t manage to comprehend that piece of lingerie.

An electronic melody informed them that someone was at the door. Rey quickly put on her bathrobe again before Tania let the guard in. He greeted them cordially and informed Lady Rey that she was invited by the emperor to attend the feast in honour of the Pantorans.

Rey thanked him politely but he still had to give her the black jewellery box.

“A gift from The Emperor”, he explained before turning around and leaving the room.

Another jewel then, though this one seemed bigger than usual. Rey opened the box slowly and her eyes widened in marvel when she discovered what it contained.

“Beautiful!” exclaimed Tania peeping over Rey’s shoulder.

It was a headpiece. Small golden leafs and chains formed the intricate naturalistic ornament reminiscent of a weeping willow. Precious stones were encrusted in the structure and sparkled like little droplets of moister.

Rey’s hand trembled at the magnificence of the object. She had never seen such masterpiece of goldsmithery this close before and the knowledge that it was hers filled her with awe.

“Would you like to try it on, My Lady?” Lyn suggested gleefully.

Rey frowned for the shortest instant then handed the headpiece to her handmaiden with a smile. She stepped closer to the vanity and sat on the small stool in front of it. Lyn gathered her mistress’ hair into a ponytail then carefully placed the ornament over her head.

Tania and Lyn both sighed in admiration at the sight of their mistress in the mirror. They praised her:

“You look magnificent, My Lady!” said Lyn blinking her eyes with emotion.

“Indeed, you look like a queen”, added Tania with a warm smile.

They were enchanted and only Rey seemed unmoved by her own reflection. She stared vacantly at the young woman in the mirror, unable to associate the image with herself. The headpiece felt suddenly very heavy. She quickly removed it and placed it in the box. The two handmaidens exchanged preoccupied looks as they sensed Rey’s dismay.

“Such an extravagant item! I can’t imagine I will ever need to wear such a thing”, she joked, refusing to let her servants worry about her.

Tania hurriedly hid the jewellery box in the cabinet while Lyn invited their mistress to put her dress on with an encouraging smile.

___________________________________________________

General Hux liked to consider himself a great man. He trusted his intellect to be among the greatest of his time and he was convinced that it was only to himself that he owed his success as a military. He however lacked the true greatness that prevented him from turning his frustration against those weaker than he was.

The emperor had forced him to release the girl that he coerced into false testimony along with her mother, and it put him in a foul mood indeed.

As Sana reported to him, like she did weekly, he snorted in annoyance:

“I don’t care about your mistress’ daily routine, maid. Tell me where she was last night?”

Startled by his direct enquiry, Sana stammered in confusion:

“La…last night, Sir?

\- Yes. She’s been spotted out of her rooms, late at night. Where was she going?

\- I…I don’t know, Sir. She didn’t tell us.

\- You’re lying!” He yelled so hard Sana jumped in surprise.

He gritted his teeth as a throbbing vein appeared on his forehead. He circled the trembling handmaid, taking pleasure at how intimidated she looked.

“I know she was with The Emperor and you know it too. You think I don’t have other sources to tell me about your mistress’ whereabouts? I know everything that happens in this palace. That’s how I know you have been lying to me.

\- Lying?” Sana tried to defend herself as she followed Hux’s form from the corners of her eyes.

“Yes. You have been wasting my time with your useless reports. You are useless to me and to The Emperor. And you know what we do to the servants who prove useless to their masters? We get rid of them!

\- I serve Lady Rey!” retorted Sana audaciously.

“Oh? And you think she can protect you. But let me tell you something, Sana: Your mistress is a prisoner here. She has no authority whatsoever. The Emperor might be enjoying playing with her now, but soon he will get bored and she will be reduced to the state of the slave she truly are”.

Sana gulped painfully. She dreaded such a fate for her own mistress.

“Either you start collaborating with me or I will make sure you’ll never see your dear mistress again. Is that understood?”

The handmaiden’s shoulders fell in defeat and she nodded shamefully.

“You’ll be doing it for her own good”, insisted Hux, deepening the cut.

___________________________________________________

As they walked slowly through the gardens, Rey gently slipped her arm under Sana’s and leaned to whisper discreetly in her ear. Fortunately, an umbrella hid the women from the guards and allowed them to talk without being noticed:

“Is something the matter, Sana?

\- No, My Lady.

\- Did something happen with General Hux?”

The handmaiden’s expression became grave. She has been unusually quite since she had joined her mistress for her daily amble:

“I am afraid he knows, My Lady. He knows I have been lying to him.

\- What happened?

\- He accused me of hiding information to him and he threatened to remove me from your service if I didn’t prove more cooperative! My Lady, He knows about you and The Emperor!”

Panic made Sana’s voice unintentionally louder. Rey patted her servant’s arm comfortingly and turned around to address a seemingly reassuring smile to the guards.

“I am sorry, Sana! It is my fault you are in this situation”, Rey’s hushed voice rang however with concern.

“No, My Lady”, protested Sana as unshed tears burned her eyes. “It is the general’s fault. He has no right to force me to spy on you. He thinks he can intimidate me, but I will never betray you”.

Rey’s lips trembled with emotion. Her servant’s dedication deeply moved her.

“Thank you! You don’t know how much your loyalty means to me. Never forget, though, that I am here for you and I won’t allow General Hux to harm you in any way.

\- I know. I trust you, Lady Rey”.

The party reached a footpath bordered by blossoming shrubs whose flowers liberated the most charming perfume. Pink petals danced at their feet as Rey and Sana walked silently, closely followed by the two guards. Another group appeared on the other end of the walkway, essentially composed of blue-skinned men and women in sophisticated apparel.

“The Pantoran delegation”, realised Rey.

A little blue girl escaped the group. She came running towards Rey and her companions then passed by them to disappear between the bushes.

“Raira!” cried out a Pantoran young woman who chased after the child.

Without giving it a second though, Rey rushed after the girl, the guards hurrying behind her in alarm. She stopped abruptly when she spotted the kid climbing an enormous tree. The guards then the Pantoran woman soon arrived and they all froze in horror as the little girl pursued her impetuous ascension.

“Oh no! Raira!” screamed the young woman in terror.

Rey didn’t hesitate. She gathered her skirts and tucked them between her thighs. One of the guards called her name in worry but she ignored him and pulled herself over a tree branch in the most unladylike fashion.

Climbing came back to her as naturally as if she never stopped scavenging the massive starships on Jakku. Soon, she was on the same branch as the child. She approached the little Pantoran silently, creeping like a panther, and then snatched her between her arms.

“Gotcha!” she exclaimed victoriously as the little beast squirmed to get free. She held her firmly and prudently commenced her descent. When they finally reached the ground, Rey let go of the girl who run to hide behind the Pantoran young woman.

“You are in big trouble, little lady!” her guardian reprimanded.

Rey realised that a Pantoran man had joined them while she was up in the tree. He was an elegant middle-aged man with piercing eyes. He examined her intently and it made her feel slightly uneasy.

“Thank you. You have rescued my little devil of a daughter. She always causes problems, but I am afraid I am unable to go anywhere without her”, he explained.

Rey nodded at him in acknowledgement then smiled at little Raira who peered at her curiously from behind her guardian’s skirts.

“I am Count Chuchi. I am the nephew of Pantoria’s Chancellor,” the man introduced himself. “This is my daughter, Raira, and her nursemaid, Fuumi.

\- Nice to meet you. I am Rey.

\- I know who you are, Master Rey!”

Rey blinked in surprise. She was certain she hadn’t met the count before. Besides, calling her “master” was quite audacious, considering that the guards were listening closely to their conversation. Still, he boldly continued:

“You are still the brave Jedi who rushes to the rescue of others”.

It was intended as a compliment, but Rey’s eyes widened in shock.

“I am afraid you are mistaken, Count. I am no longer a Jedi”, she answered bluntly, her voice trembling in anguish.

“Excuse me!” she added as she turned around and disappeared between the shrubs with the guards at her feet.

When she remerged in the pathway, she found Sana waiting for her.

“Let’s head back to the palace”, Rey said to her handmaiden.

“Is everything alright, My Lady?

\- It is just a bit too hot, that’s all”, she lied.

However hot the temperature on Naboo, it could never compare to the heat she grew used to in the Jakku’s desert.

___________________________________________________

The lively melodies played by the musicians filled the great hall while the guests feasted on the opulent food splayed all over the crescent-shaped table.

“How long do you think it will take before our guests start dancing?” whispered Kylo Ren to General Hux.

Hux snorted in amusement. He was quite aware of the Pantorans’ infamous fondness for dancing.

“Isn’t it exactly why the musicians are here? To let the Pantoran indulge in their passion?” the general pointed out.

“I am trying to please my guests, general. I don’t want to gain the reputation of being a bad host”.

The emperor was in a rare cheerful disposition tonight. Hux smirked at the idea that sex was probably what put him in such a good mood. He ignored that Kylo Ren was actually burning with impatience as he waited for Rey to arrive.

When she finally appeared, he stood up, unintentionally getting everyone’s attention. The hall went silent as Rey entered, wearing a deep purple dress and the headpiece that the emperor sent her this morning. The audience stared at her in admiration. Still, she kept her head down and silently walked to the end of the table where she took her usual seat.

Kylo Ren nearly forgot to breathe when he noticed that she had the headpiece on. She usually avoided jewellery and he knew that she wore the ornament just to please him. When he slowly sat down again, the music and the chatter resumed around him.

He couldn’t stop looking at her. The day had been so long as he waited to see her again. Now that she was here, he only wanted to go to her and take her in his arms.

Rey was her docile and quiet self, tonight. She glanced at him from time to time, but as soon as she saw him staring at her, she lowered her eyes shyly. He was so focused on her that he barely noticed his guests’ attempts to start a conversation with him.

Hux rolled his eyes. Kylo Ren was terrible at hiding his sentiments, even with a mask on and it was up to the general to entertain the Pantorans while the emperor baldly ogled Lady Rey.

“There they go!” laughed Hux when a couple of guests started waltzing in the middle of the great hall.

Soon, six other Pantorans stood up and joined the first couple, transforming the great hall into an improvised ballroom. The emperor hated dancing. When he was a child, his mother forced him to learn how to dance and to attend all sorts of parties that bored him to no end. Yet, tonight, he couldn’t help but admire the way his guests twirled gracefully around the room. He was so captivated that he didn’t notice when Count Chuchi went to invite Lady Rey for a dance.

“I don’t know how to dance”, confessed Rey to the count who was gallantly presenting her his hand.

“You don’t have to. I will guide you!” he encouraged her with a knowing smile.

Rey lifted her hand, hesitated, and then offered it to the count. She followed him to the center of the hall as he instructed on the way she had to hold him. He smiled at her comfortingly and started moving them around, guiding her gently with the arm he placed around her waist.

Count Chuchi revealed himself a very good dancer and it was easy for Rey to follow the rhythm of his confident steps. She let him drag her along in a slow yet entrancing waltz. It was enjoyable, even exhilarating, to feel her feet slide so easily against the floor, to have the room suddenly spiralling around her.

“You are a natural, Master Rey”, complimented her the count.

“Please, Count, don’t call me like that!

\- Why?

\- I am no longer a Jedi Master.

\- I think you are afraid.

\- What do you want from me, Count Chuchi?

\- Master Rey, my family, my homeworld is forever indebted to the Jedi. I have the upmost respect for you and for all you have accomplished when you were with The Resistance. I do not believe that you have turned the page on your past so easily.

\- Maybe I have.

\- I know you don’t have the choice, that you are a prisoner here. But you must know that you are not alone. Many people around the galaxy are ready to help you.

\- Please, stop!”

Rey became agitated. She glanced at Kylo Ren and saw how he watched them fixedly, anger and confusion pouring out of his very being. Yet, the count ignored her distress and whispered in her ear:

“You are the last Jedi. You are the proof that The Resistance is still alive”.

Rey interrupted their dance and they stood still between the other couples:

“You know you are putting us both in danger by saying such things!

\- I know. However, it is my duty to tell you: there is still hope. You being alive suffices to give us all hope”.

She peered directly into his eyes and he saw that she acknowledged his words though she seemed to warn him against saying any more.

“Excuse me. I have to go. I am not feeling well”, she said while looking over his shoulder in terror.

The count turned to see the threatening figure of the emperor hunching over the table, fists balled in anger and shoulders trembling with tension.

Rey all but run towards the exit.

__________________________________________________

Rey reached the corridor. She heard the echo Kylo Ren’s unmistakably rough steps. She looked behind her and saw his hulking angry form approaching, his steps far wider and more rapid than hers. She gasped and accelerated her pace in an attempt to get away, but he easily caught her by the arm and pinned her against the wall.

She could hear the fury in his modulated voice as he pushed his body against hers:

“What did he say to you?

\- Nothing”, she answered, trying to sound confident but her breathing coming in shallow puffs betrayed her alarm.

“Count Chuchi. What did he tell you?

\- Nothing of importance”.

Kylo Ren leaned forward menacingly.

“Really? Did he call you _Master Rey_ again like he did earlier in the gardens?” he hummed in her ear.

“It doesn’t mean anything to me”, she said with determination.

“Rey, you know I am jealous, don’t you? Do you enjoy making me jealous?

\- No, My Lord.

\- What does he want? Does he want to take you away from me? Is he trying to convince you to betray me?

\- You know I wouldn’t, My Lord.

\- Maybe I should forbid you from talking to anyone. Maybe I should keep you locked into my rooms. Better still, I will make you wear a chain and keep you with me at all time”, he muttered lustfully as he placed his cold mask against her forehead.

She shook her head in shock, but her indignation only enflamed him.

“Yes! I will put you in a cage, like a beautiful bird. 

\- Caged birds are the saddest creatures in the world!” she sobbed.

Rey’s sad words shuttered Kylo Ren’s fantasy. His vision suddenly became disturbing: Rey caged and miserable, all her liveliness and all her colours drained out of her. He breathed deeply, trying to expel the jealousy that tore his insides, then nestled his masked face in the crook of her elegant neck.

“Oh Rey! Oh my queen!” he chanted deliriously as he fumbled with her headpiece.

They heard gasps and commotion on the other end of the corridor, some servants interrupting their embrace.

“Come on”, Kylo Ren roared irascibly, aware that they would keep being interrupted if they stayed there. He took her hand and guided her to a secret entrance that opened for them when he applied his palm against a hidden panel.

They found themselves in a secret passage, dimly lit in blue. The muffled sounds coming from the great hall resonated through the walls letting them know that the feast continued after they had left.

He sunk to his knees and nuzzled his head against her belly making her gasp in the most enticing way:

“I think I am losing my mind”, she confessed and it hit him in the heart like an arrow.

"Promise me you won’t leave me, Rey. Promise me you won’t go”, he pleaded while he caressed the fabric that separated him from her sex.

“I won’t!” she murmured, caressing his covered face. “I don’t think I can leave you even if I wanted to!”

__________________________________________________

The next morning, Kylo Ren showed up at Rey’s rooms. When they saw him come in, the handmaiden jumped in alarm and rushed to leave them alone.

“I am leaving for Coruscant”, he said to Rey whose eyes filled with disappointment.

“You made me promise you, Last night, to never leave you.

\- I know.

\- Yet you are the one who is going away.

\- I will be back, very soon. I promise you.

\- You don’t have to.

\- No! I promise I will return as soon as I can”.

A smile brightened Rey’s saddened face. Kylo Ren removed his mask and kissed her fondly. He looked into her eyes with adoration and she blushed at the intensity of his gaze.

“I have a gift for you. I am sure you will love it!” he announced joyfully and before she could protest, he opened the door to reveal a familiar little droid.

Rey gasped in disbelief as it came into the room.

“Beebee ate? Is that you?”

The droid danced around her, chirping enthusiastically. Kylo Ren smiled at them appreciatively as Rey stooped down to have a better look at the excited robot.

“But how?” she asked.

“He was lucky to be captured by The First Order before The Resistance base was destroyed. He has been kept in low power mode since then. I thought he might be more useful if he kept you company while I am away.

\- Oh, thank you! Thank you, My Lord!

\- You are welcome, my queen!”

Rey looked at the emperor and for a moment, he couldn’t know if she liked or detested the way he called her. BB-8’s insisting beeping broke the tension between them.

“He is after all the reason why we ever met, in the first place”, recalled Kylo Ren as he donned his mask again.

Rey stood up and followed him to the door. She seemed nervous and troubled.

“I will miss you”, he confessed in his distorted voice.

He placed his gloved hand over her cheek and she leaned in, closing her eyes. It was with great pain that he had to leave her.

When the handmaiden came back, Rey introduced them to BB-8. They were instantly charmed by the little ball who kept rolling around their feet and amusing them during the whole day. Lyn seemed particularly fascinated by the droid and, with her mistress’ consent, she stayed longer than her two friends to play further with it.

She left late at night, when it became hard for her to retain her yawning. Rey, however, was still fully awake. She listened to BB-8 as he recalled the events of his capture.

“Don’t worry, my friend. Soon, we’ll both be free!” she promised with certainty.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for the delay, my dear friends. I have no idea why this chapter has been hard to finish. I kept writing and rewriting and editing and re-editing and I never seemed to be satisfied with the result. Still, I think I have to publish it and be done with it so I could move forward with this story. 
> 
> I really hope the result is not too bad and that you will still want to read the upcoming chapters. 
> 
> Happy Christmas and Hanukah, dear readers! Your support is the best gift I could receive. Thank you for the kudos and the wonderful comments you left me in encouragement. Thank you so much!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren is gone and Rey is tormented by her feelings.  
> Let her tell you what she truly has in her mind.

I am the emperor’s mistress.

Everybody knows, here in the palace, that I am his. I have noticed how they have changed the way they look at me. They used to consider me with feigned indifference or open defiance, but lately, they have become more curious, almost deferent.

Rumours run very fast in a crowded place such as this. I have no doubt that the news about Kylo Ren and me spread, like a wave on the water, the instant I entered his rooms, five nights ago. There’s no turning back, now.

I keep thinking about the night before he left, when he made promise never to leave him. I complied, too easily, too eagerly to his demand. We made love, in the secret passage, and as he chanted words of devotion in my ear, I felt my desire for him become stronger than my resolve.  

I wanted to believe him, when he called me his queen, when he said that he was lost without me. I wanted to believe that it was all true, that we were really falling in love. I forgot that such things were impossible for us.

We are enemies and we will always be. Our combat carries on. For so long, have we used our lightsabers to face each other. Now, the weapons have changed. Seduction has replaced our sabers and I fear our fight has grown even deadlier.

Lightsabers can only hurt your shell. Lust can taint your soul.

When I am in his arms, I am his thing. I play the part too well. Why do I feel so fulfilled when I feel his lips against my skin? Why do I feel so complete when he is inside my belly?

I offered myself to Kylo Ren. I gave him my body, because I knew it was the price to pay. I expected it to be atrocious and humiliating. Never could I have imagined that the pleasure it would bring me would instead become my greatest torment.

It’s been hard since he has left. Harder than I would have imagined. I thought I knew why I was here, but I couldn’t predict that things would get so complicated.

I cannot afford to forget why I am here.

_____________________________

His absence fills me my days with doubts and melancholy. I feel as troubled as I was during the first weeks after I arrived here.

The palace keeps functioning around me, like a well-oiled machine. The staff has been executing its tasks diligently –even fearfully– under the scrutiny of General Hux. Against all odds, he didn’t accompany his master to Coruscant, sparkling the most insistent rumours about a disagreement with the emperor.

He has been demanding to meet me, since Kylo Ren has left, and I have had to pretend to be sick to avoid him. He is, I know, a dangerous enemy and I sense my intervention to save the innocent engineer from his fallacious accusations has fueled his animosity towards me.

I can no longer indulge in my training sessions nor in my daily walks in the garden because of him and I have little to distract me from my somber thoughts during these long hot days.

My handmaidens and BB-8, it is to them that I owe my salvation. They sense my distress and they have been doing all they can to save me from boredom.

Tania has been trying to teach me how to dance. Since she heard I’ve danced with Count Chichi, she made it her mission. I am a terrible student but she is a persistent teacher. Some days, we jump and spin around the room for hours like children, careless, free. She makes me forget my predicaments, even for a few moments, and for that I am indebted to her. 

Lyn has been showing me her drawings. It wasn’t easy to convince her to let me see them. She is too humble. When I tell her how beautiful and touching they are, she blushes and apologises as if she did something wrong. She obviously underestimates her talents. She has no idea how accomplished and sincere her art is.

Sana is her usual chatterbox. It is very hard to resist her communicative cheerfulness or her insatiable curiosity. She is an inexhaustible source of news and gossip, although she verges sometimes on the indiscreet. She has been probing to know what happened between Kylo Ren and me, insistently, but even if I prefer to avoid answering her, I couldn’t hold her against her. I trust her and I am aware that her interest is only motivated by her affection for me. 

Now I have BB-8, too. I never expected to see my dear friend again and was overjoyed to discover that he too survived the war. However, I noticed very quickly that he has changed. The imperial technicians have tempered with him, rendering him less acute and less energetic. They have inhibited some of his capacities and it has become hard for him to memorize things or take decisions. He is rendered more...docile and I can’t help but be reminded of my own condition when I see how he has become.

He still is as happy and affectionate as ever, though, and it is been easier to support the dullness of these last days thanks to him and to my three new friends.

I remember my old friends, how they gave meaning to my life, how I have lost them. It is for them that I am here. It is for them that I keep living.

_____________________________

Today, Sana has disappeared.

I was expecting her this morning, but she never came. I assumed, naturally that she had a good reason to be absent. When Lyn showed up later for her duty, I asked her about her friend’s whereabouts, but her paling face indicated that she too ignored what has happened to her.

Sana apparently never came back to servants’ quarters, yesterday. Tania and Lyn are used to her spending some nights out but it is against her habits to miss a workday.

I sent Lyn to search for her and enquire about her around the palace. Tania joined me to keep me company and to reassure me. She has been barely containing her own worry, but she’s kept inventing explanations she herself doesn’t seem to believe.

When Lyn came back alone, her eyes reddened by unshed tears, I was no longer able to hold my distress.

I am convinced that General Hux is behind Sana’s disappearance. He wants to lure me out of my hideout and I have no choice but to conform to his cruel strategies.

The sun is high in the sky, the temperature is suffocating and I leave my rooms, for the first time in three days.

I march towards Hux’s quarters. I have visited them previously only on two occasions, both of them ending badly. 

When I arrive, alone, at the doors of his domain, I ask the dumbfounded soldiers posted there to announce me. He keeps me waiting, intentionally I am aware, and then allows me to come in.

He is at his office, this time, surrounded by officers, discussing some nefarious plans, I presume. Perhaps a new weapon he would use to obliterate entire civilisations while he watches and enjoys his disgusting tea.

“Where is Sana?” I ask him without any sort of introduction and everyone falls silent around us.

“Lady Rey, is there a problem?” he answers me, smirking.

“My handmaiden Sana. She has disappeared! You must know where she is!”

The officers turn their offended and questioning faces to the general. I know I shouldn’t have confronted him that way, but at this moment, I have not the force nor the desire to pretend.

“If you excuse us”, Hux says to his men with a calm that worries me more than his usual nervousness.

He steps towards me and signals me to follow him. I obey, though reluctantly and not without a hateful look to his unsympathetic minions.

We arrive into another room, a small library, where he invites me to sit with him around a small table. I refuse and insist instead:

“What did you do to Sana?

- Your handmaiden? Why do you think I have anything to do with her?” he asks, but the satisfied smile he harbours doesn’t leave any doubt in my mind about his responsibility in her vanishing.

“You have been harassing her, threatening her to force her to give you information about me.

- Oh! So she told you? I should have known”, he snorts and the casual manner he concedes to my accusations make my blood boil into my veins.

“Tell me where she is! Is she a prisoner?

- A prisoner? No! On the contrary, I am merely offering her a new working opportunity. She is to be transferred to my staff. I don’t think you really need _three_ servants at your service, do you, Lady Rey?”

He wants to punish me! He is taking Sana from me. I can’t lose another friend. I won’t allow it.

“Is this because I made your plan to condemn an innocent man fail?

- Of course not! I cannot afford to keep petty grudges when there are far more important things are at stake.

- So what is it? What do you want?”

He remains silent, watching me from his seat and savoring my apparent despair. He places his long face over his interwoven fingers and, with a satisfied smile, he offers me an answer I never could have expected:

“I want us to start helping each other. I want us to become allies”.

In my surprise, my feet take a step back in their own volition. I am utterly stunned by his words. I look at him with wide eyes, my mouth agape. I am unable to formulate a response, nor a thought for that matter. Hux’s intentions seem incomprehensible.

“I always knew that you were going to succeed, that you were going to make Ren fall for you”, he tells me and I am surprised to detect admiration in his voice. “You must know how powerful it makes you to be the mistress of the new emperor.

- I...I don’t seek power if that is what you think”, I end up retorting, but my voice sounds weak and unconvincing.

“Of course not! That’s not the reason you are here”.

I sense the hidden sense behind his words and I shiver at the thought he might be aware of the truth.

“Rey, we are very similar, you and I. We both are fighters, survivors. We are not born in privilege. We had to make our way in a world that kept proving its cruelty to us. Nothing has never been easy for us, and all we have accomplished is only due to our own merits.

“We are both well acquainted with Kylo Ren’s character. He is a passionate man who dedicates himself relentlessly, almost self-destructively, to every task he undertakes. Still, I have rarely seen him so vehement and so visibly infatuated as he is with you.

“This can be an incredible opportunity for you Rey. You can gain influence. You could affect the decisions of an emperor. However, if you don’t tread carefully, you could just as easily lose his interest and even his trust.

- And you are suggesting to help me, Hux?

- I will, if you help me in return.

- Will you give me back Sana, if I agree?

- Your position as the mistress of an emperor asks for more work and efforts from your servants, I am certain”.

We exchange knowing looks. I sense my repugnance for him grow until my stomach hurts, but I force a smile to concretize pact that has been forced upon me. I have no choice, but maybe Hux is right: this _is_ an opportunity. On Jakku, many were those who ended up falling in their own traps. 

_____________________________

“This is all that remains of the bomb”, General Phasma tells me while opening a large drawer in the armory.

My first service to Hux is to help him solve the mystery of the Spring Festival attack. Kylo Ren has apparently been very discontented with his advisor’s inability to track the true perpetuators of the assassination attempt. How desperate the general must be to ask for my assistance.

At first, I believed that Hux was the real culprit. Everyone knows of his ambitions, of his envy of Kylo Ren. He is relentless and cruel and his methods tend to be deceitful and fiendish. Still, as he pointed it out to me himself, if his master had any doubt about his innocence, he would be dead by now.

As I look at the amalgam of plastic and iron displayed before me, the difficulty of the situation strikes me with full force.

“We have tried to reconstruct the model of the bomb. All supposed designs suggest simple parts that can be found easily in stores”, recites Phasma dully, as if she said it too many times before. “Will you be needing the reconstruction documents, Lady Rey?” she adds and her tone becomes more lively when she addresses me.

“Not yet, General. I want to try something else before”.

She lifts an eyebrow, in interest, and watches me silently as I put my hand over the melted device.

Objects never lie. They cannot hide the truth. I have always known how to read them, even before I knew that it was The Force that allowed me to, and I am determined to make this one talk.

I close my eyes and let The Force guide me. I dive into the History of this object and I hear the fainted whispers of its past.

“This bomb was never intended to kill The Emperor. It is not strong enough”.

I feel Phasma gasp next to me, but it doesn’t interrupt my concentration.

“Its purpose is not death, it is disorder. Those who made the attack knew The Emperor would survive, but that he would become destabilized. They intended to exploit that.

- They?” asks the general as I slowly open my eyes.

“Yes, I am afraid the person who placed this bomb isn’t working alone. I sense the will of many, a nefarious plot”.

Phasma seems disrupted by my revelations, almost alarmed.

“We have to tell Lord Ren about this”, she whispers, her eyes uncommonly avoiding mine. “This is worse than we thought!

- I am afraid so!

- Is there any way you could help us further, Lady Rey?” she asks, this time facing me in earnest.

“I will try”, I say sincerely.

I want to know who attacked Kylo Ren, why they did it. Are they potential allies, or rather even more dangerous fiends? 

I should never forget why I am here. 

_____________________________

When I get back to my rooms, Sana is there, waiting for me. I squeeze her into a hug so tight that she squeaks. I examine her face, her arms, to see if she has been harmed in any way, but she seems fine. Her eyes, tough, betray the feelings of guilt and defeat that she carries in her heart.

Lyn and Tania join us and they both abandon their usual decorum to jump on their friend and cover her with kisses.

“I was only gone for one day!” remarks Sana ironically, but it does nothing to soften the elation of her friends.

We all sit down and I encourage her to tell us what has happened to her. As I suspected, Hux’s men went to fetch her after her shift, yesterday, before she could reach the servants’ quarters. They put here in a small room, like a prisoner, without food or water, denied any kind of explanation.

As she relates her misadventure, I feel the anger burning my insides. I have feared that my new friends would suffer because of me. I should have never allowed myself to get attached to them. I know that one day my actions will eventually seal their fates.

When she finishes her story, Sana yawns and notes that at least such the holiday she much needed to regain her forces. We all laugh, though our hearts are still saddened by the ordeal she had to go through.

When the night comes, Lyn and Tania leave first, offering the opportunity to Sana and me to talk privately. I insist to know if she was alright, if the guards treated her well.

“Lady Rey, don’t be upset. I am fine. Thanks to you.

- I am so sorry.

- Please. You have nothing to be sorry about”.

She hesitates then gathers her courage to add:

“I only dread the price you had to pay to get me free.

- Hux won’t bother you anymore, I promise you”.

She looks worried, but refrains from commenting.

I hug her one last time, and BB-8 nudges against her calf affectionately before she leaves us, bidding us goodnight.

_____________________________

In the middle of night, I wake up, gasping. I have sensed his presence. He is back.

As soon as his ship has penetrated the atmosphere of Naboo, I could feel him through The Force. It is frightening and intoxicating at once. I am agitated, unable to find sleep again and for a couple of hours, I wait for him like an enamoured woman awaits her lover.

Is that what we are? Lovers?

It is a lie. I has always been a lie. I am the one who told the pirates to deliver me to Kylo Ren. I am the one who offered myself to him as a gift. I am a bait. I am a trap.

He finally reaches the palace, and I sense him as if he were next to me. He manifests himself through powerful waves that hit me like the ocean on Ach-to. He is not alone. He is accompanied by another force-user whose presence is... dark, malevolent, ominous.

I forget the second presence as soon as I realize that Kylo Ren is coming for me. I jump off bed and walk around the room, nervously. BB-8 is alarmed by my behaviour and keeps rolling around my restless feet.

I can follow him, through the corridors of the palace. He approaches and my heart beats faster at each of his steps.

I face the door and when he comes in my room, I forget how to breathe. His dark imposing figure has haunted my dreams since my lightsaber made me see him. They used to be nightmares, now they are voluptuous visions.

I jump between his arms before he says a word. I don’t need to feign my excitement to finally be reunited with him. He laughs and quickly removes his mask to throw it over the bed.

We kiss, passionately, desperately. His lips are softer than I remember and their touch ignites a warm feeling in my belly. I feel as if I am falling. I am falling in my own trap.

BB-8 is surprised by our behaviour. He runs away to the other room, but we barely notice him.

“You were waiting for me”, Kylo Ren whispers against my mouth.

“I have been waiting for you since the day you left”, I say to him, the words flowing from my mouth freely.

He kisses me again on the mouth, then on the nose, on the cheek, on the ear, on the neck. Little tender pecks that make my heart flutter. 

“I missed you. I missed you”, he chants and his voice trembles as if he were sad.

I take his face between my hands and look into his eyes. I know that I have missed him too. 

I plead my own heart to let me lose myself into the moment, to let my torment at bay. 

“Please, let me believe that this is real. I have missed him so. I am so alone”, I tell it, as if I am speaking to the spirits of my departed friends, wary of their disapproval. 

I feel dizzy, somehow, as if inebriated by his presence. He scans my face in wonderment and I blush under the caress of his gaze. Desire makes my insides shudder oddly, pleasantly.

As our mouths meet again, we spin around the room, clumsily trying to reach the bed while we undress each other. We bump against the furniture, but nothing can persuade us to break our embrace.

His skin offers itself to my gaze. I let my hands feast on the forms of his muscles. His chest is lean and chiseled like polished stone and I feel hypnotised by the lines of his body.

“I thought of you, Rey, all the time. I tried to remember you, the sound of your voice, the taste of your mouth... I wanted to recall your body, hum it like a melody, but my memories can never do you justice”.

His words, they enchant me. I want to believe everything he says. I wish this was all true.

When we are both freed of our last garments, we lie on my bed. It is too small for both of us and we have to hold each other very tightly to fit in. The room is dark and slightly cold, though his skin against mine feels hot, exquisitely so.

His embrace is tender and comforting, but my desire for him grows unsettling. I want more from him and he knows it. I lick his lips and he moans in delight.

“You said you missed me!” I tell him impatiently.

“Did you miss me too?” 

That is what he wants: reassurance. Kylo Ren, the powerful new ruler of the galaxy, being so insecure. It amuses me as much as it moves me.

“I missed you”, I murmur in the most seductive way before I offer him a kiss that reveals all the longing I have felt for him. 

We press our bodies against each other until they fit like two parts of a whole. He soon lifts my leg over his hip and I can feel his hard member probing between my thighs. I am ready for him. The anticipation that built to this moment has been tortuous but delectable.

He pushes his cock inside me and I yelp in delight. It feels so right, to have him here, stretching me, filling me. Nothing else has sense. 

“Tell me!” he says in my ear. “How does it feel?” 

We are both already panting. Our movements are slow and maddening.

“It feels good. So good!

- Describe it to me.

- Mmh! Your sex is hard. It is warm... When you move inside me, I...ah! The pleasure you make me feel is nearly unbearable. It burns…like fire”.

My words seem to entice him. With our chests closely pressed against each other, our arms tightly around our backs, he starts to move his pelvis in an exotic way. His kisses become more ardent, his thrusts are fast and unforgiven. I roll my hips erotically and he sighs in my ear. 

The bed squeaks under the force of our movements. His face is hot and his lips are humid. Beads of sweat roll against the skin of his back. I hold him closer. I feel him all over me and yet he is not close enough. 

“Oh, my master!” I scream when my reason becomes blurred by passion. 

“Yes! I am your master. And you are my mistress”.

Our screams mixed with the wet noises of our lovemaking produce an obscene melody that fills me with shame and euphoria. I become bold and I grab his ass, marking his toned skin with my nails. He hisses and accelerates his rhythm, his cock slipping in and out of my sopping lips in an unbelievable speed. 

My body is in flames. I feel lightheaded. I am climbing to the heavens.

“Every moment I am away from you is meaningless. Every moment I am not  _ inside _ of you is meaningless”, I hear him say before I tumble into ecstasy.

I float, suspended. For a few seconds that feel like an eternity, I forget who I am. I have no identity, no past. Nothing matters apart from the man who keeps ramming his quivering length between my thighs.

“Come! Join me” I invite him, whispering against his temple. I clench my inner muscles around his shaft and he groans in response. He shudders before he explodes with a fearful yelp. We share a moment of absolute bliss. Nothing exists apart from our merged forms.

I hear a heartbeat and I cannot determine if it is his or mine. 

We cling to each other, sharing the moments of intense delight, miserable at the idea to let go of one another.

“Why? I don’t want to leave you”, he whines when his member slips out of my folds.

“Then don’t leave me”, I reply. “Stay with me”.

He sighs and lets his head fall over my chest. I slip my fingers in his hair and play nonchalantly with his locks and he hums in satisfaction. 

I examine his sweaty face in the darkness. His eyes are closed and a delicate smile is drawn on his lips. He looks so calm, almost fragile. I remember how I have never been able to hate this man. 

Will I be able to avenge my friends? Will I have the strength to betray him? 

I stroke his cheek with the back of my wrist and close my eyes slowly. 

Maybe I am mad. Maybe there is another way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear friends, 
> 
> I am so sorry for the delay, again. I have been quite busy this last two weeks. I have started a new treatment at the hospital and I have to go there every morning. Ah! I'd rather be writing stories!
> 
> I truly hope you enjoyed your holidays. I myself am just glad that 2016 is behind us! I can't get over the fact we lost our princess Carrie Fisher. She will never be forgotten. 
> 
> This chapter is very different, as you surely noticed. I wanted to expose Rey's point of vue and a first person narration imposed itself. I am very curious to know how you feel about it. Your comments are an inexhaustible source of encouragement and inspiration! 
> 
> Thank you so much for your support! This story has now more than 200 kudos! I am delighted ^_^


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Kylo Ren learn to know each other while their relationship is slowly shifting.

The first rays of light delicately draw the contour of his silhouette, the texture of his skin was so soft under her fingertips, his masculine sent floated in the small room and his hot breath tickled the skin of her throat. Rey’s senses were riveted by his presence as he slept peacefully between her arms. 

She had never seen him like that, so innocent and insouciant. Despite his imposing figure, he seemed fragile and she had trouble associating him with the violent and power-thirsty creature that was Kylo Ren. 

“I could kill him now”, the though came to her. “He is at my mercy. It would be so easy”. 

The idea horrified. She shivered in panic and she placed her hand against his chest searching for his heartbeat as if to convince herself he were still alive. His heart drummed an even pulse under her palm and she sighed in relief, slowly regaining her clam. 

The line of the horizon took on a lighter shade of blue announcing the impeding sunrise and a dark serenity reigned around the couple. Rey closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she held him closer. 

She suddenly felt Kylo Ren trembling against her. She looked down at him and saw how his lips and his brow twitched uncontrollably. He kicked his legs, visibly struggling against a nightmare that assaulted him. 

Rey was overcome by an irrepressible need to help and protect him. She was tempted to dive into his mind and share the vision of his dream, but she feared his reaction and dreaded the darkness she could find there. Instead, she held him closer, his sweat-covered skin cold against her chest. She touched his face, caressed his brow and the sharp line of his cheekbone then she kissed his lips, tenderly, soothingly.

“Rey”, she heard him murmur.

He remerged from his sleep and slowly opened his eyes to stare at her with a mix of relief and surprise.

“You were having a nightmare.

\- Yes. That always happens.

\- Always?

\- It is the price to pay”.

His words sounded strange and irrational, his logic still blurred by sleep. Kylo Ren kissed Rey, gratefully, then snuggled his head against her throat. He quickly fell asleep again, unaffected by the nightmare he just had. It was such a common occurrence that he no longer bothered to reflect about the meaning of his dreams.

She looked over his shoulder through the window and sighed. The growing brightness of the new day slowly devoured the lingering darkness. The view appeased her and infused some hope in her troubled heart.

____________________________________

Rey woke up to the sound of hushed steps and scrunched fabric. She opened her eyes and saw the touring form of Kylo Ren moving around the room, carefully gathering his clothes and putting them on again. 

It was already bright outside. Rey sat on the bed and watched Kylo Ren as he dressed up. Even if he noticed her looking at him, they both remained silent. Their eyes met and they smiled awkwardly at each other. The mundanity of the moment felt heavily intimate.

As he slipped into his shirt, Rey gathered a sheet and wrapped it around her naked body. She stepped out of the bed and padded towards Kylo Ren.

“Let me”, she said.

He smiled down at her affectionately as she fumbled with the hooks of his shirt, amused by the serious and concentrated look on her face. When she closed them all, he took her hand in his and she slowly rose her gaze until she met his.

He lifted her arm and spun her around to face the mirror of the small vanity that rested against the wall. The skin of her nappe came to life under the touch of his fingertips and she gasped at the sensation of his voluptuous lips brushing her ear.

“Look how beautiful you are”, he murmured, his voice dripping with want and adoration.

Rey opened her eyes and saw her reflection, Kylo Ren lurking behind her and dominating her petite figure. His eyes fixated her and she trembled at the intensity of the passion she read in them. She noticed how much he struggled to remain gentle while he placed his trembling hands over her shoulder. He gritted his teeth and his members tremored with impatience.  

“Are you mine, Rey?”

She looked at his image, languorously flapping her eyelids. Her lips parted but no sound came out of them. She longed to taste his lips, his pale skin that gleamed in the morning light. She was completely under his spell.

“You _are_ mine.  And now that I have you, I will never let you go. Never!”

He clenched her shoulders so tightly that she couldn’t hold the desperate yelp that stumbled from her quivering lips. He kissed her throat and his mouth was voracious, sucking at her pulse point, biting and branding her irremediably. Rey watched as the wet marks were imprinted on her skin and she felt at once helpless and excited by his fierce possessiveness.

Her hips swayed, her movements languid as if she was inebriated, and Kylo Ren drank her sight like nectar. He tugged at the hem of the sheet that covered her and let it fall slowly, licking and devouring every portion of her skin that was revealed to him. The fabric clung to the swell of her chest and he pushed it with the back of his hand as if he were chasing an annoying insect.

As the sheet pooled around Rey’s feet, Kylo Ren’s eyes widened. The vision of her exposed body thrilled him. He took her breasts in his hands and although his skin was cold, his touch burned like fire. A hissing sound came out of her mouth, she threw her head back against his firm chest and dug her nails in his thighs, only to entice him to tighten his grip around her tender mounds.

He moved his hands in a lazy circular motion and he felt her nipples hardening slowly and agreeably into the crook of his palms. He watched her in the mirror as she rubbed her thighs and bit her lips, desperately trying to contain the moans that he so yearned to hear.

“Yes! Your body cannot lie to me”, he whispered in her ear before biting her lobe.

He took one nipple between his thumb and index, twisted it and pulled it, to provoke her, his lips twitching in dark pleasure.

Rey suddenly turned around in his arms, persisting impudently in her silence, looking at him with a mix of desire and mischief. She lowered her eyes shyly, took one of her breasts in her hands and lifted it to present to him, like an offering. He examined it with a deep frown, wetting his lips and hesitating between teasing her and accepting her invitation. Both perspectives made his insides twitch with excitement.

The choice was easy to make. He crooked his neck and took her tit into his mouth. Her sensitive skin felt so delicate and tender between his lips. He sucked her nipple and grazed his sharp teeth against it, making her tremble and whimper in pleasure. The slowness of his actions combined with his warm and wet mouth made her delirious with want.

Kylo Ren looked up and they gazed into each other’s eyes. The intensity of their stare only heightened the erotic feeling of their touch. With an echoing growl, he took her mound deeper in his mouth and suckled without restrain, deliberately ignoring the desperate yelps escaping her lips. Her hips shook violently and she felt the ground falling away under her feet.

He pushed her against the vanity and she somehow lifted herself to sit over it. Flasks and boxes fell on the floor, crushing, rolling and causing an awful din, but they didn’t pay them any attention. The world could have crumbled around them and they wouldn’t be able to let go of each other. 

Rey tried to undress her lover, but he wouldn’t let her. Instead, he slipped his hand under her knee and lifted her leg to put her foot over the vanity. Her sex unfolded like a flower and a furious blush spread over her cheeks. She averted her eyes, but he grabbed her chin and forced her to look back at him. 

“No, Rey! Don’t be embarrassed. You are so beautiful. You are so powerful. 

\- …Powerful?” She asked wistfully. “What power do I have when I am prisoner?

\- You are more than a prisoner, Rey, and you know it. Can a prisoner have an emperor kneel before them?” 

Rey gasped in surprise as Kylo Ren sat on his knees in front of her. He admired her while she softly pushed away the locks of hair that fell over his forehead, a delicate smile creping onto her lips. 

“No. You are much more than that”. 

He kissed her lower lips, slowly, savouring her taste and the delicious sound of her voice as her screams filled the small room. His tongue slid against her folds then plunged into her entrance, the smooth skin of her inner thigh shaking against his cheek. He marveled at the discovery of her warm inner flesh and the way it pulsated with life. 

Instead of embarrassed, Rey felt pure. Instead of guilty, she felt free and light. The pleasure that escalated in her was like a path she followed to reach a state of liberation and when she peaked, it was blissful. She felt happy. Happy. 

She looked down at Kylo Ren while he licked his lips eagerly awaiting her reaction. He was right. Suddenly, she grasped the extent of the power she had over him. She placed her hands over his head, as if to bless him and he leaned in. The moment felt utterly spiritual. A truth floated in the air, the force of the feelings that grew in their hearts. 

“I should go”, he said, effectively breaking the spell. 

Rey withdrew her hands and allowed him to stand up. She watched him as he stooped to pick his mask off the floor where it rested. 

“Why do you still wear a mask?” he heard her ask, a bit timidly. 

He turned to face her and tilted his head, astounded by such an unexpected question. He considered lying to her, giving her an invented reason, but somehow, he felt compelled to confide in her:

“Because I need it”.

\- You need it?

\- Yes...to be completely Kylo Ren”. 

He seemed nervous, somehow annoyed and she daren’t ask him to explain, though the look of confusion on her face enticed him to continue:

“It is a symbol. It gives me strength, Rey. It helps me fulfill my role. 

\- What role? 

\- The role of the emperor! The one who has no fear, no doubts and who is prepared to do whatever it takes to make the world a better place. Whatever it takes!”

His voice rose menacingly and his words lingered between them. Still, Rey didn’t seem intimidated by him. Even though his nostrils flared in anger, she stepped closer to him, wrapped her hands around his neck then murmured in his ear: 

“I don’t think you need a mask to be strong. Besides, I like it better when I can see your eyes”.

Her words suppressed his anger as water puts out a fire. She kissed his temple innocently and drew random patterns against his face with the tip of her little nose. 

____________________________________ 

“What will happen to Lady Rey?” said Lyn, yet again, to Tania who shared her bed in the servants’ dormitory. They spoke in hushed voices, but Sana could clearly distinguish their words from the opposite bed. 

“Lyn! It is not our place to worry about her. Besides, I trust her. She is stronger that she seems”, Tania tried to comfort her. 

“I know she is... But, The Emperor…he is unpredictable. He is mad! 

\- Hush! What if someone hears you? Don’t forget he is our master. 

\- Everyone knows he is mad! How can you ignore what is happening around us? Haven’t you heard what happened in Coruscant? 

\- It is none of our business…

\- But it is! It is! You don’t understand, Tania. He sees people like pawns in a game. Our mistress is just a plaything for him. 

\- You are getting carried away. You have to trust her. Everything will be alright”. 

Tania pulled Lyn between her arms and kissed her forehead fondly to chase away her worries, as a loving mother would do to her child. She shared her younger friend’s concerns, but she had made it her duty to remain always calm and reasonable to support her young fellow handmaidens. 

Sana stayed awake long after her two friends had surrendered to sleep. Her arrest by General Hux has affected her more deeply than they could have suspected. Something has changed in her. She was a servant, but she could no longer bear to be a victim. 

A spark of rebellion was born in her and she decided to fight Hux with the same weapons he used. He once tried to persuade her to become a spy and it was exactly what she intended to do. She considered it the only way for her to protect her friends and her beloved mistress. 

Lately, she became attentive to the gossip around her. She discreetly enquired about the latest political news and she discovered that the soldiers could prove very talkative when she exploited her irresistible Twi’lek charms to loosen their tongues. 

She despised them. She hated the way they stared at her, their excitement and desire barely concealed. Still, they were a valuable source of information.

Sana was playing a dangerous game, but she could no longer be passive. When sleep finally came to her, her thoughts became unorganised and she dreamt of a world free of the influence of men like Hux or the emperor.

___________________________________________________

Hux’s excitement to meet Kylo Ren and start planning the invasion of the Outer Rims Territories was tainted by the presence of Io Ren in the war room. 

“The Senate is officially supporting an invasion of the Outer Rim Territories, then?” asked the general coolly. 

“Yes. The senators will pass an official vote in a few days”, confirmed Kylo Ren. “Hux, you have already met Io Ren?” 

The knight and the general nodded at each other with polite detachment. Yet, a palpable tension filled the air and they regarded each other with circumspection. 

As he sat with the emperor and his knight, Hux considered the irony of the situation. It had been his idea to use the Spring Festival attack to pressure the senate. Yet, Io Ren got all the praise after she arrested Senator Sooro for high treason. 

“I heard the arrest of Senator Sooro went well”, commented Hux. 

“Indeed. The senators thought they could resist me, but the capture of Sooro proved to them that none is immune to my power”.

Hux realised that it would be very hard to get rid of Io Ren. She had done an impeccable job gathering enough evidence to justify the politician’s arrest and pave the way for the upcoming invasion. Besides, she had an irreproachable reputation and her invaluable understanding of politics and her cold calculative mind made her an excellent tactician.

Like Kylo Ren, Io was of a noble extraction and despised her origins. Her family counted many republican senators and two of her three brothers sieged at the senate when the New Republic was obliterated at the very hands of General Hux. She however never openly sought to avenge them. 

She was known for her pragmatism. When Snoke assigned Kylo Ren to be the Master of the Knights of Ren instead of her, she accepted him as her new leader without expressing any objection. She obeyed to him, in every way, and he deeply respected her for that.

“Any news from Ryloth? I hear Solon Ren and Kinga Ren are having trouble with the local population. Are they still trying to develop a local militia to fight the crime lords’ influence?” Hux asked. 

His question was nothing but innocent. It amused him to point out the inability of the Knights of Ren to succeed in their task.

“It is of no importance now”, replied Kylo Ren in annoyance while Io Ren listened quietly, perfectly emotionless. “Ryloth will soon fall under our control and its habitants will eventually realise that they have to submit to the empire for their own good. 

\- Are the knights to be called back to Naboo now that their mission has proven unsuccessful? 

\- They are still useful where they are”, said the emperor and his cryptic answer troubled Hux. 

A satisfied smile appeared on Io Ren’s lips then she turned her attention to the officers who came into the war room. Hux knew that under her detached and calm exterior, she was an implacable opponent. 

____________________________________

Ion Ren found Naboo vain and slightly aggravating. It reminded her of her own home world, Gatalenta, with its lazy rhythm, its worry-free habitants and their extravagant customs. Besides, the hot climate of the planet put her usually imperturbable nature to test. 

After the reunion with Kylo Ren and his officers to discuss the strategies of the upcoming war, she decided to take some time to exercise. She preferred the outdoors to the confined space of the training rooms and she found a particularly suitable spot in the gardens to practice her techniques. 

She was an accomplished warrior. She excelled at fencing but also at archery that she practiced for her mere pleasure. It allowed her to relax and sharpen her concentration. 

As she placed the arrow against the bow, in this hot bight afternoon, she sensed the presence of another Force-user in the gardens. She knew it was the Jedi. She had already felt the same Force-signature the previous night, as soon as she sat foot in Naboo. 

She knew her name. She knew her reputation. Rey was responsible of the death of two Knights of Ren and had been Kylo Ren’s implacable enemy during the war. Io wasn’t surprised to discover how powerful Rey’s Force-signature turned out to be, though it still fascinated her. 

She patiently waited until Rey and her escort would be close enough to see her and she skillfully shot the arrow, certain that it would catch their attention. It hit the mark, impeccably. She turned around and faced the small group. 

“Lady Rey”, she saluted in her deep voice. 

Rey nodded her head slightly in acknowledgement. She seemed impressed by the knight’s skills. 

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Io Ren, of the Knights of Ren”. 

Rey’s expression darkened at once. She became tense, but the knight seemed undisturbed and continued calmly:

“We didn’t have the opportunity to meet during the war, but now that we have achieved peace, we can finally be acquainted on other circumstances than on a battlefield”.

Two guards and a green-skinned Twi’lek accompanied Rey. Io kept examining the handmaiden with interest and the servant stared back at her impudently, unconscious of the growing excitement it elicited in the knight. 

Io Ren brought her attention back to Rey. 

“May I walk with you?” asked Io, completely ignoring the guards who twitched nervously beside Rey.

The young Jedi agreed, although reluctantly, and Io Ren joined the little group in their daily stroll. 

Rey looked at the knight discreetly. Io Ren was in her early forties. Her slim figure and her exceptional height gave her an intimidating and yet graceful aspect. She had a small face with perfectly shaped features and a long blond head of hair that accentuated the coldness of her beauty. 

She walked, tranquilly next to Rey, swaying her hips femininely in a way that made it hard to believe she was actually a warrior. However, her expression remained unsettlingly impassive and darkness emanated from her. 

“Naboo is a beautiful planet. The palace is an architectural marvel. It is very quiet, however. Don’t you think?” said Io Ren after a long silence. 

“Yes, it usually is”, replied Rey monotonously, unwilling to engage in such small talk. 

“You are a warrior, Lady Rey. How do you bear such stillness?”

Rey’s pout betrayed the mix of confusion and exasperation that dwelled into her mind.

“I am no longer a warrior”, she said eventually. 

“Is that so? What a waste!” 

Rey suddenly stopped and Io Ren asked her in a voice that carried no mockery: 

“Have I offended you?

\- No. 

\- Lady Rey, you might doubt my sincerity, but I think that you are too skilled and your power is too strong to be neglected”. 

Io Ren’s words sounded so earnest that they shocked Rey. The two women fell silent and they quietly continued their walk as a refreshing wind blew through the trees. 

When they reached the gates of the palace, Rey bid the knight farewell. 

“I am looking forward to meet you again, Lady Rey”, replied Io Ren before taking her leave. 

Rey suspected malevolence under Io Ren’s refined manners. She watched as the knight walked away and wondered about the true meaning behind Io Ren’s unsettling words. 

___________________________________________________

That night, Rey expected Kylo Ren to call for her or come visit her, but it was already late and she didn’t receive any word from him. Instead of disappointed, she decided to put the time that was offered to her to good use. 

Indeed, the night was often her only refuge. When her handmaidens would retire and the palace would go to sleep, she could shake off the Lady Rey persona and become herself again. 

Rey picked a hairpin in her the jewellery box, slipped it between her lips and twisted it with her teeth. When she stooped and presented it to him, BB-8 rolled away from her, confused by her intentions. 

“Don’t worry BB-8. I want to help you. I just need you to go on Low-power mode for a few minutes”. 

The small orange and white droid beeped in surprise: 

“Do you intend to open me? 

\- Yes”, she laughed. “But only to have a look. I promise I won’t alter any of your circuits”. 

BB-8 was still shaken by his capture and by the modifications he had been subjected to. He hesitated then rolled towards her again before his lights dimmed and he stood perfectly still. She sat on her knees and patted the robot’s head in recognition of his trust. 

With her fingers, Rey searched for panel that would let her access his internal circuits. Using the hairpin, she methodically loosened the screws then carefully removed the piece of metal to reveal the hidden mechanisms of her astromech friend. 

She wasn’t naïve. She knew that BB-8 could have been bugged, but she didn’t care. She could no longer bear to see him this diminished and she needed to know what the imperial engineers had done to him. 

As she suspected, BB-8 was missing some components and a few wires have been tampered with, though it was nothing irremediable. If only she could have access to some spare parts, she would be perfectly able to fix him and restore his former personality. 

Rey fixated the plaque back and waited for the rounded droid to start up again. 

“Rey! How nice to see you! It has been so long!” the little robot chirped when he saw her face. His altered memory was no longer reliable. 

“It is nice to see you too, Beebee Ate”, she replied with an earnest smile that revealed her dimples. 

It only saddened her to see him be like that, a shadow of his former self. She remembered the first time they met, back in Jakku. He was a true fighter, a hero of the Resistance, full of courage and resolve. He trusted her then and she still felt compelled to help him. 

“I will help you, my friend! Whatever it takes”, she promised, determination burning in her eyes, and he beeped cheerfully in response. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers, 
> 
> I have missed you a lot! Thank you so much for your support and your wonderful comments (oh! I love them!).  
> I am feeling a bit nervous about this particular chapter. I felt I had to pave the way for some upcoming events, but I hope that it doesn't turn out redundant and boring to read. As always, I welcome all your opinions. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and I love you!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar character reappears.  
> Rey and Kylo Ren have their first real couple fight.

It was very hot in the cave, so very hot. Ryloth was a planet of extremes and the natural temperature only added to the oppressive atmosphere that reigned in the refuge.

“You keep accusing the Empire emissaries of harboring all sorts of plots, but until now you have been incapable to provide any proof of your allegations”, said Orr Luta, rather energetically.

The Twi’lek elder agreed to meet the Resistance fighter along with his counterpart Tar Glie, but since the beginning of the discussion, he proved quite argumentative.

“Surely you do not believe that the Knights of Ren are here just to help! Their leader, Kylo Ren, has spoken openly about his plans to invade your planet and the rest of Outer Rim Territories.

\-     Yes! To get rid of the crime lords. Ryloth has suffered enough of their doings. They have been exploiting our planet, draining it of its resources and oppressing our people impudently and for so long. We have tried to fight them on our own and every time we thought we had eradicated them, new ones appeared. We need help. 

\-     And I understand your frustration, but you have to understand that the New Empire represents a far greater threat than the crime lords.

\-     How can you be so certain? Hum? You have no proof! You only fear for your own skin, now that the imperial emissaries are here. You are afraid they would discover that you and your Resistance friends have survived”.

The Resistance fighter felt hotter still under the layers that hid his face from the two elders. He ventured a look towards Tar Glie, the older of the two Twi’leks, who remained silent and pensive since the beginning of the exchange. After a short silence, the Resistance fighter took a long breath and resumed, forcing himself to keep a controlled voice that only betrayed his dismay:

“Honorable Orr Luta, the Resistance is eternally indebted to you and to your people. You have agreed to give us refuge and hide us from the New Empire when we most needed it. It is only to you that we owe to be still alive. Our solemn goal is to help you in hope to repay even a slight part of our debt towards you.

\-     Your help? What kind of help are you even able to offer? Look at you. Look at what remains of your Resistance. Just a few survivors who struggle to remain hidden from your enemies. The New Empire is probably the only force powerful enough to help us now.

\-     At what cost? You would be willing to give up your sovereignty, the freedom of your people.

\-     Of course not…

\-     The New Empire might seem ready to offer you its help, but you would be naïve to believe there won’t be a price to pay in return. There is always a price to pay”.

The Twi’lek was visibly insulted by the enflamed comments of the Resistance fighter who instantly regretted them. He was certain, now, that he would never be able to persuade the elders of the threat that the Knights of Ren and the empire truly consisted.

“You are right, Commander. The Empire emissaries are not here to help us. They are here for you!” said Tar Glie, surprising everyone by coming out unexpectedly of his silence.

“What are you saying?” interjected his fellow Twi’lek elder.

“They know that there are survivors from the Resistance, here on Ryloth. Why would the Emperor send his knights to encourage an insurrection against the crime lords when he is planning to invade the Outer Rims very soon? No. It is just a plan to drive the last members of the Resistance out”.

Orr Luta and the Resistance fighter were equally stricken by the Tar Glie’s shockingly blunt though sensible statement. He had already suspected the true reason behind the presence of the Knights of Ren on Ryloth, but the commander was still surprised and rather impressed by the Twi’lek’s perspicacity.

“That’s why you have to leave! For your own sake and also for our own”, added Tar Glie, his tone admitting no protest.

The Resistance fighter felt as if swept away by the elder’s words. He thought, for a short moment, that Tar Glie might have been on his side and that he would have helped him make Orr Luta see some reason, but he turned out to be even more inflexible.

“We cannot force them to leave after we have offered them refuge. It is not the Ryloth way!” Orr Luta exclaimed, somehow indignant.

“You know that I am right, Commander”, continued Tar Glie, calmly, ignoring the other Twi’lek elder’s reaction. “Of course, we could help you hide, but you know that eventually they will find you. They won’t spare you, and the destiny of our planet will be compromised”.

He was right. The Resistance commander lolled his head, bending under the crushing weight of the truth. He could hear Orr Luta still protesting and it offered him some solace to realise that elder, who appeared so uncooperative before, was actually prepared to stuck to his principles despite the danger it put his people in. However, he knew he could no longer afford himself to hesitate, that the Resistance survivors would have to run away, again, from the ever-expanding influence of the New Empire.

He lifted his head, suddenly, and his stance expressed all his determination:

“You are right, Honourable Tar Glie. I think we have no choice but to leave.

\-    Commander! Wait until we discuss this with the other elders.

\-    The Knights of Ren cannot know of our presence nor of our retreat. We would have helped you to face the Empire, but if Ryloth is determined to remain neutral, our presence can be disastrous for you”.

Silence reigned in the cave again. The two elders seemed resigned and the Resistance had no doubt about the sincerity of their trouble.

“I thank you for accepting to meet me. May the Force be with you!” he said and he sounded strong and brave, not at all the way he was truly feeling.

“May the Force be with you!” replied Orr Luta as a poor consolation and Tar Glie nodded in sign of respect.

The Resistance fighter walked towards the cave’s entrance and welcomed the slightly fresher air of the outside in relief. A few young Twi’leks were guarding the cave, but he ignored them. He had no heart for cordialities.

It was already dark outside and he would usually be very cautious while progressing through the arid landscape of the surrounding canyons. However, his members felt so stiff and his feet so heavy now that despair was applying its full effect over his being that he had barely enough energy to walk. A few minutes passed, when he had the distinct feeling that he was being watched.

His arm moved instinctively to the blaster he kept hidden under his worn-out vest. It was pointless for him to try to hide, now:

“Show yourself!” he yelled to the night air.

He figured that if the observer wanted him dead, they would have already succeeded in ambushing him, which gave him some confidence. Still, he was terrified that it might be the Knights of Ren.

“Show your face or I will come to get you”.

It was absurd. He doubted that his threat would have any real effect and he certainly wasn’t expecting the bark of laughter that came from the shadows.

“I will show my face to you, if you agree to show me yours”, he heard an elegant voice answer before a dark figure revealed itself to him from behind a natural column.

The man’s face was indeed hidden behind a scarf and a huge pair of goggles. He seemed unarmed yet unsettlingly confident even when the Resistance fighter took his blaster and pointed it towards him. Soon appeared the armed men who accompanied him. They quickly encircled him and the commander who had no opportunity to react.

The Resistance fighter lowered his blaster and waited calmly for some sort of explanation that he knew would be given to him eventually. He couldn’t see the expression of his capturer, but he could distinctly sense amusement.

After a short moment during which the two men considered each other with caution, the mysterious character lifted his goggles, revealing a pair of bright golden eyes. As he unfastened his scarf, the commander realised that he was Pantoran as his light blue skin and silver hair indicated.

“I believe we haven’t had the chance to meet before. I am Count Chuichi of Pantora. Now, I think it is your turn to show your face, Commander Finn.”

Finn was stunned to hear his name. He had put so much effort to conceal his identity since he reached Ryloth. He was certain that no one knew that he had survived and he couldn’t fathom how the Count could have identified him.

“How?” he asked in a barely audible voice.

“Don’t worry, no one else knows.

\-     If you know who I am…

\-     …Then I know that the Resistance is still alive! Yes. I know that you and a few survivors are hiding here, in Ryloth.

\-     How can you know?

\-     Let’s say, we have a common friend…

\-     We have to leave! Now! If the news of our presence came to spread, this planet would be doomed”.

Finn was revealing too much in his panic.

“I am here to offer you my assistance, Commander. If you need to leave Ryloth, I am willing to help you”.

The mind sometimes works in mysterious ways. While he considered the proposition of the Count, whose timely appearance seemed suspicious but couldn’t reasonably be ignored, Finn though of Rey, of the first time they met. It had been so easy then for him to trust her and to put instinctively his destiny in her hands. His friend help him trust his instincts and domesticate the panic that too often took control of him.

He considered it a good sign, the sudden memory of his dear friend. He thanked her, deep down in his heart, for her guidance and hoped that the decisive choice he was making would be the right one.

He swiftly removed the layers of fabric that hid his face. It was a very imprudent but he was convinced it was the only way to prove his trust to Count Chuichi. His face was emaciated and a few wrinkles have appeared at the edge of his eyes, but he was still the same Finn, at once boyish and full of a gravity that only years of combat could have provided.

“I accept your help, Count Chuichi, in the name of the Resistance”.

The Count smiled in acknowledgment than signaled Finn to follow him. They soon disappeared in the shadows followed closely by the Pantoran men.

___________________________________

Rey lifted her glass and looked at Kylo Ren through the red liquid it contained. She closed an eye and tilted her head as she tried to penetrate the mystery that surrounded him.

The fermented crimson beverage, that she was tasting for the first time and which exotic name she had trouble recalling, made her feel quite light-headed. Her thoughts were rather incoherent, though somehow she was under the impression that her mind was clearer than it had been for a long time.

“Are you enjoying the food?” he asked her, bringing his glass to his smiling lips.

“Yes…It is…really good”.

She spoke slowly, her voice heavy with a sensual fatigue, as if she were hypnotised. His smile deepened before he took a long sip from his glass.

So! He was playing the gentle and caring card tonight. Since he returned from Coruscant, Rey noticed that his behaviour had been changeable and unsettlingly odd. It was a succession of passionate encounters and long periods of separation. It was a strange pattern. He would join her or summon her, often on a whim, then he would avoid her for days without any explanation, and just then, when she would start to be assaulted by doubt, he would come back to her again, full of longing and devotion.

This morning, he sent her a message, an invitation to dine with him. It had been long since he called for her in such a formal manner. 

The evening turned out to be very pleasant. Kylo Ren had the room where he usually took his meals on his own fully refurnished for the occasion. They both sat on elegant high-back chairs around an extravagantly richly set table. The dim light and the narrowness of the room provided a peaceful and intimate atmosphere.

They ate, almost in silence, timidly exchanging comments on the dishes from time to time. They still acted coyly around each other when they weren’t in each other’s arms and behind Kylo Ren’s seemingly confident manners, Rey detected a kind of nervosity.

She drank another glass and, like the previous ones, it brought her a brief respite from her concerns and an increasing feeling of liberation.

“Why?” she breathed and Kylo Ren raised an eyebrow curiously.

“Why… did you want me to dine with you tonight?”

Rey was surprised by her own boldness. She realised that the drink had had an disinhibiting effect on her and she suddenly feared she would unintentionally divulge some secret or vital information to him.  

“Aren’t you enjoying it?” Kylo Ren asked playfully, visibly amused by Rey’s slightly inebriated state.

“I think you brought me here to tell me something.

\-     Hum?

\-     Tell me”.

He smirked at her and she felt at once annoyed and seduced by his smug confidence. She watched him as he rose from table and moved slowly towards her. As he stood next to her, she looked up at him and repeated with more determination:

“Tell me”.

Kylo Ren crouched down and reached for Rey’s cheek. He caressed her bottom lip with his thumb, his eyes following intently the movement of his finger.

“I have heard something amusing the other day. Do you know how the people of Naboo are calling you in streets?”

Rey gulped uncomfortably. She supposed that if it had to do with her becoming the mistress of the Emperor, the inhabitants of Naboo might not be using the most flattering adjectives to refer to her.

“They call you the “Queen”!”

Her lips parted and only a short intangible syllable came out of them.

“But...they don’t know me”, she could finally say.

“They know you, Rey.

\-       How? I have only left the palace once.

\-       Your reputation cannot be contained, I suppose”.

Where she expected irritation from him, he proved to be pleased.

“I guess, even if I tried, I cannot keep you for myself”, he added wistfully before taking her hand and kissing it delicately.

“Come with me”, he added as he pulled her hand and forced her to get up and follow him outside the room.

They joined the vestibule then passed through another door that led them to a secret passage. Rey felt her mouth go dry at the memory of their disparate lovemaking on the floor of a similar corridor and she realised how much she desired him. 

“Where are you taking me?” she asked but didn’t get any answer.

He walked in a hurry, excited like a young boy, dragging her behind him, before they reached a door that opened with a loud creaking sound, probably due to disuse.

The room they came into was dark and Rey could only distinguish the vague forms of some furniture covered by sheets. The air was heavy with dust and she imagined being surrounded by brooding specters.

“Where are we?” she said, shivering slightly, the room feeling oddly cold.

“The Queen’s rooms!” announced Kylo Ren before he put the lights on thanks to a panel in the wall. “Come! Let me show you around”.

It was amusing to see Kylo Ren being so exuberant. She realised that the drink must have had a liberating effect on him too. It was a side of him that Rey was surprised and pleased to discover. She felt her heart beating a bit faster as she watched him running around eagerly from one room to the next.

The Queen’s quarters were impressive in size and in number of rooms. In addition to the main bedroom and the general living area, there were a library, an office and individual rooms for the Queen’s Ladies in waiting. They were all sumptuous and vast. The main bathroom alone was bigger than Rey’s whole lodgings. However, there reigned an eerie atmosphere, as if the place was haunted by old memories that refused to fade away.

As they came into the last room, Kylo Ren pointed out cheerfully:

“This was her changing room”.

Rey laughed at his enthusiasm, but he took no offence.

The room was small, all painted in red, and in it were only some sort of columns that, like the rest of the furniture, were hidden under white covers. He removed the sheets, one after the other, unveiling display cabinets where stood mannequins dressed in the most elaborate and extravagant costumes that Rey had ever seen.

It was Kylo Ren’s turn to laugh at her astonished expression:

“Preposterous, isn’t? My own grandmother had to wear these ceremonial outfits during her term as Queen. Then again, it is the Naboo way to be extravagant.

\-    Your grandmother, Padmé Amidala?

\-    Yes. You heard of her? I have never met her myself, yet I have the feeling that her memory lingers here, in this palace”.

He fell silent, looking pensive, before he reprised:

“My grandparents, they loved each other, you know? So much!”

Rey was touched but the sincere admiration that transpired from his voice. She felt her interest growing for these two characters. They’d had such an influence on the history of the galaxy, yet she knew so little about them.

“I used to consider their story with detachment, cynicism even. I was convinced that the love that my grandfather felt for his wife had been a weakness...until now”.

Kylo Ren turned to look at Rey, the intensity of his gaze confirming the revelation that his words implied.

“Rey, I want you to move here. This can all become yours”, he told her, the tone of his voice at once seductive and intransigent.

Rey brought her eyebrows together in confusion, which wasn’t the reaction he hoped for. He came up to her and dropped a feather-light kiss on her mouth.

“I know that you came here with the intention to harm me.

\-     My Lord…

\-     Hush! I know you have been harboring some plot against me when you arrived here. But, Rey, if you are willing to give up on them, I will forget all about it”.

Rey was rendered voiceless, a tempest surging in her mind. The accusation was evident and she struggled to find an answer that wouldn’t condemn her.

“You might have been pretending, at first. But I refuse to believe that this has been only a lie. I can see it, the way you look at me, the way you abandon yourself to me. I want it, Rey. I want all this to be true.

\-       Oh, My Lord…”

He took her face in the palm of his hands and placed his long nose against her little one.

It became harder for her to tell him. She  was repulsed by the idea to hurt him when he was proving so tender and to disappoint him when he seemed so hopeful. 

“Thank you, but I can’t accept”.

At her words, his temper flared immediately and his lips twitched menacingly. He seized her arms as he struggled to contain his anger:

“You can’t?” he snorted “Why?

\-     What difference will it make if I move here? This is only another cell, isn’t?

\-     How can you say that?

\-     You have been playing with me. Since you have been back from Coruscant, you have been torturing me.

-     Yes. YES! I was trying to provoke you. I want you to stop playing this game. I want you to stop pretending.

 -     How can I be certain that this isn’t another one of your games? You are manipulating me. I am just a possession for you. You want to control me, to conquer me! I am not an animal you can tame!” 

The drink -or maybe was it the influence of the room that was imprinted with the memory of generations of powerful women- made Rey feel bold enough to confront him. She tried to get away from Kylo Ren’s grip but he held her arms tightly as she struggled:

“It is cruel! You _are_ cruel. I am just your captive. Do think it is easy to be in my position? I have to protect myself.

\-     I…I want to trust you. Didn’t you beg me to trust you? Still, you persist in keeping me away. Stop hiding from me!

\-     What if there is nothing left to hide?  What if I am really broken?

\-     No! I know. I can see it. There is a light still burning inside you. You are the same Rey.

\-     You’ll never be able to trust me. This is all just but a fantasy. You are my captor and I your prisoner. We have been pretending to be lovers, but we will never be able to forget our past. It will always be a lie!

\-     What do you want? Do you want to punish me? Do you want to make me pay for what I did to your Resistance friends? Why don’t you do it, Rey? You have had so many occasions to harm me, yet you did nothing. You saved me! Have you forgotten? You can’t do it. You want this just as much as I do! Why do you keep tormenting us? Let go of your past. GIVE UP!”

He shook her violently and she felt the painful push of his mind that wanted to force her mental barriers. She screamed in panic and she pushed him away with the Force. He stumbled and fell on one knee, but didn’t try to raise again. He hung his head, immediately overcome by regret, as if he had broken something precious. He had promised himself to never resort to his mind-reading technique against her again. He knew how fragile the link that connected them was and now he feared that he had ruined everything.

Kylo Ren lifted his head to meet Rey’s severe gaze. She watched him, panting, her irises dilated in anger. 

“You cannot control everything!”

Her statement was implacable. She looked superb, sublime in her resolve. It was Rey, in all her splendour, the same woman who had him at her mercy while Starkiller Base crumbled around them. 

Suddenly, there was a shift in the mood. The tension dissipated and the air became heavy with desire. She jumped on him, like a wild beast, grasping his hair and painfully pulling his head back to crush her lips on his. He stopped breathing as she devoured his mouth with a fierceness that she never displayed before. She sucked his tongue into her mouth and bit it mercilessly until he moan in pain and pleasure.

He could have easily knocked her over. She was so small and fragile despite her extraordinarily ruthless behaviour. Yet, he had no desire to repel her assault. He was surprised by his own reaction, the excitement he felt at the prospect of having her dominate him. 

Kylo Ren’s expression grew dark and twisted. Rey saw in his eyes that he was challenging her and as her blood pumped loudly in her ears, she put her hands over his chest to force him to lay down on his back. He complied, though growling frighteningly. He gritted his teeth and his lips trembled while she sat over him and captured him between her legs. Slowly, she lifted her skirts, revealing her thigh-high stockings and the creamy skin of her hips.

“Ah…Yes!” he hissed and she reacted immediately, pushing his face to the side and reprimanding him:

“Hush! Not a word!”

He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. She was pouting at him in annoyance, though barely concealing her wicked satisfaction. He smirked back at her, reminding her that she could control him only because he allowed her to.

She might seemed confident and certain of what she was doing, but in the inside, Rey was terrified. This was a game she had never played before, an unexplored territory where she progressed on pure instinct. Still, she was determined to dictate the rules. She was filled with energy and guided by a wicked kind of curiosity. She wanted to know how far Kylo Ren would go to please her, how much he was willing to accept to reclaim her affection. 

Pleasure grew in her and intoxicated her the same way the fermented drink did earlier. It felt so exhilarating to ride such a powerful creature. His raw strength and bestiality enflamed her. She rocked her hips, rubbing her heated core against his confined cock and Kylo Ren’s body shuddered violently between her thighs. He rose his pelvis, whining impatiently like a barely domesticated beast on a verge of bursting out.

“Shush” she whispered softly while she slipped her fingers inside his pants. 

Delicately, Rey took his throbbing member in her hand and pulled it out of its restrains. It stood, fully erect, angry, quavering and demanding. It made her smile mischievously. She stroke it a few times while she grabbed her undergarment and pulled it to the side to reveal her own swollen sex. She rose on her knees then slowly lowered her body, allowing the engorged head of his cock to tickle her wet lips. She rubbed it against her clit, teasingly, but like her lover who whined under her, it drove her mad with impatience. 

She let herself sink completely, her mouth forming an “o” as she welcomed his full length inside her cunt. She heard him gasp and he shook violently between her thighs. She leaned backward, reaching for her ankles. The position made her arch her back and push her breasts forward, and as she started moving her hips again, they bounced enticingly under her dress.

The movement of her lower body was elegant and obscene. Kylo Ren watched her in wonderment, as she danced over him, her eyes closed and her lips tightly locked in concentration. 

She pushed her lover’s shirt up and leaned forward to kiss his chest hungrily, tasting his pale skin. She gathered the pearls of sweat with her tongue, as if they were dewdrops. She licked his nipple and took it between her lips. The feeling of her wet warm lips against his sensitive skin all but brought back his dominant nature. 

Rey allowed Kylo Ren to grab her hips and plunge his shaft even deeper in her tunnel. Her soft hot matrix clenched around him, sending delectable bolts of energy through his spine. He tilted his head backward and rolled his eyes, surrendering to the hypnotic and increasingly frenetic undulation of her body.

Kylo Ren clasped Rey’s face and forced her to meet his eyes. They stared at each other, their lips nearly touching and their moans mingling to compose a strange melody that echoed in the empty quarters. 

Rey’s mind grew hazy and the pleasure she felt almost unbearable before she tumbled into bliss. The sensation of ecstasy made her body feel incredibly light, as if she were free of all restrains. She didn’t notice when Kylo Ren held her hand. She only felt him tightening his hold around her fingers almost painfully as he came inside her with a loud scream of relief. 

His deep voice resonated in her ears. She revelled in its sound until it slowly dissipated as she came down from her climax. She let herself fall, exhausted, next to Kylo Ren. There was a cold wetness between her legs, the combination of their fluids leaking from her folds, and the sensation brought her back to reality. She took fright at the thought that she might have gone too far. 

When she looked at him, she saw that Kylo Ren was staring at the ceiling. He seemed serene, peaceful. She stretched her hand to touch him then withdrew it, uncertain of his reaction. 

“I would never hurt you”, he said and she knew it was his way to ask for forgiveness. 

“I know”. 

He rolled on his side to get closer to her. He seemed suddenly dark and grave and he slip his arm around her waist to bring her against him possessively. 

“I want this. I want you. 

\- I…I want you too”. 

They kissed, ardently, and their embrace dispelled the sinister atmosphere that laid around the room and filled it with life again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear! It has been quite some time since I last updated. I hope you don't doubt my commitment to this story, dear readers. Your comments are such a wonderful source of inspiration and they fill me with motivation, but I have been back to work lately and despite all my resolve I am having trouble organising myself and finding the time for my favorite activity…writing, that is. 
> 
> I will do my best to update more frequently and I thank you for being such faithful readers. Some of you have been commenting on every chapter I wrote and I can’t express to you enough gratitude! Your support and your words fill me with joy!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Kylo Ren get closer.  
> It is the calm before the storm.

Something had changed. 

Everyone could see it, in the way she held her chin high, in the self-assurance of her steps while she walked through the corridors of the palace. Her eyes sparkled with a light, barely contained energy that she had struggled to conceal for so long. Now, she didn’t have to hide it. She no longer had to pretend. 

Long gone was the compliant defeated prisoner that was offered to the emperor nearly half a year ago. Now, Rey shone with a bright charisma that no habitant of the imperial palace of Naboo could ignore. Servants, officers, guards and diplomats, they watched her in equal awe as she passed them by. Heads turned to follow her, as if they were hypnotized by her sheer presence. Finally, they could see what made her so special. She looked exactly the way they imagined a Jedi would do. 

Rey sensed dread, incomprehension, sometimes admiration coming from them. She knew that change in her behaviour couldn’t go unnoticed, but she was done with the pretences. The game was over. 

Her handmaiden walked behind her. Lyn could see the dazzled looks of those they crossed path with and it amused her. Since her mistress had moved to the Queen’s quarters, she and her two servant friends immediately noticed a shift in Rey’s nature. Of course, she trusted them from the beginning, and they thought they knew her well. However, it turned out there were still things she kept hidden from them. Like her determination, her sense of morals. 

Instead of frightening, the change in Rey’s behaviour made Lyn trust her even more. It felt as if her mistress had been an incomplete drawing which lines were finally defined. Now, she seemed…complete. 

Tania and Sana proved more concerned at first. They both wondered what it all meant. They couldn’t understand why Rey would accept to move closer to the emperor’s quarters nor why she seemed so different now. However, they soon came to trust her and to appreciate her new nature. 

Rey gained some more privileges lately. She was able to attend the library, a place she seemed to appreciate a lot. She spent most of her mornings there. One of her handmaidens always accompanied her while the two others remained in her quarters, now that they lived there. She had suggested that they would move with her and offered them each a room that used to belong to a Queen’s lady in waiting. They accepted, of course, because it was a rare opportunity for a servant to get their own room, to live in such opulent environment, but also because they couldn’t bear to leave her alone in the Queen’s rooms. They felt so lonely, so devoid of life. 

“I used to have just a couple of halobooks back when I lived in Jakku”, confessed Rey to her servant. “And I cherished them like they were the most precious things I had. This! This is just a treasure vault”, she said while pointing to the shelf after shelf that the library contained, their number so great it seemed infinite. 

Rey didn’t read books, she devoured them! All kind of books: history, science, fiction…she was interested in everything. Lyn barely could keep up as she helped her get the volumes she was interested in, each time she accompanied her to the library. She noticed that the staff had become familiar with her demands and eagerly guided her and advised her in her discoveries. They seemed to grow found of her, appreciative of her communicative enthusiasm regarding their collections. 

The morning usually was a quiet time of the day. The library was a true sanctuary of peace and, that day, Rey and Lyn were basking in that tranquility until someone came to sit just on the other side of the desk despite the fact that it was already covered with the books. 

Lyn didn’t recognize the tall woman who sat quietly and looking intently at her mistress, but as Rey slowly rose her eyes to look at the intruder, a slight discomfort seemed to appear on her features. 

There was an uncomfortable silence, Rey obviously refusing to address the woman first. This one suddenly had a quiet yet unsettling laugh: 

“I didn’t take you for the reading type, Lady Rey”, she said in a calm voice that curiously bore no hint of irony. 

- Nor do I believe you know me that well, Io Ren”. 

Io smiled and the absence of any kind of reaction stroke Lyn as disconcerting. Clearly, that was a woman who was able to conceal perfectly her feelings. 

“You are right, we don’t know each other, unfortunately. However, I have heard about you so much that I had the feeling to know you before I met you. From Kylo Ren, but also from my master, Snoke…”

Rey flinched nearly imperceptibly at the mention of that name. Lyn knew that it was preferable that she would leave the two women alone, now that the discussion had taken such a serious turn, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave her mistress alone, an illogical need to protect her rising inside her.

“He admired you, you know? For your skills and determination”, added the woman and it made Rey burst in indignation: 

“Why are you telling me this?”

Io Ren gazed upon Rey with an unconcealed amusement. 

“It was such a great mistake for us, not to have found you before the Resistance did. 

- Really? What makes you think I would have joined you? Snorted Rey. 

- Well, you are with us now, aren’t you?”

Rey seemed chocked by Io Ren’s declaration. She lowered her eyes and frowned, pensively. 

“…Maybe my master would be alive now, if you were with us”, continued Io Ren in her usual clam and unreadable tone. 

“I thought you had a master… in Kylo Ren”, answered Rey. 

A little smile drew a curve on Io’s lips and she agreed: 

“Yes. And I hope I will succeed in defending this one better than my previous master”. 

With those words, she got up and bid Rey and her servant farewell. Lyn was startled to realize that Io Ren had noticed her presence. 

“Are you alright, My Lady?” she inquired with concern.

Rey didn’t seem to hear her as she followed with a deep scowl the form of the Knight of Ren while she walked towards the exit of the library. She knew that her visit had been planned and that she had come intentionally to meet her. 

____________________________________________

Kylo Ren has changed. Even behind his mask, his officers and advisers could see that he was...different.

As he sat in the war room, he carefully listened to his followers discussing the current political situation:

“The costs of such a large scale attack are going to be tremendous! Can we really afford to siphon all the empire’s riches and resources?” commented one of the officers. 

“But if we postpone the war, the crime lords will have the time to reunite and organise a counterattack…” reacted another. 

A few weeks ago, no one would have dared to express themselves so freely in front of the emperor. Somehow, he seemed more patient and open to his advisor’s opinions. Lately, he became more clam, more focused. When he talked, he expressed his ideas more fluently and his words were often wise and well thought, just as a true leader’s ought to be. 

Even a man as blasé as Hux could appreciate the improving of the emperor’s mood. He had no doubt about the reason: it was her, Rey, the Jedi. Her influence was palpable. 

Kylo Ren was no longer prone to his infamous anger bursts. He became more open to suggestions and to advice. His obsession for war on the Outer Rims seemed tempered by a new interest for the state of his empire and his people, which was quite disconcerting for Hux in itself, but not dangerous enough to become a threat to his own plans. The general did wonder if Rey was trying to influence the emperor just as he suggested. 

It had been weeks since he made her promise to help him. He forced her to become his ally, but since he had given her back her servant, he knew he had no leverage to compel her to keep her word. However, he need not to. One day, _she_ would come to him. She was bound to, he was certain of it. Things couldn’t go forever this way between her and Kylo Ren. 

The meeting had started some time ago when Io Ren suddenly burst into the room, interrupting one of the officers. Kylo Ren seemed particularly displeased: 

“You are late!

- I am sorry, My Lord!” 

She didn’t offer any kind of explanation and went to sit next to her master. Everyone could hear him breathing angrily behind his mask and they feared that the Knight of Ren might bring back his foul mood. 

However, she seemed impossibly unaffected and as the officer started speaking again, she leaned towards Kylo Ren and whispered only for him to hear: 

“I have interesting news, about Pantora”. 

His only reaction was a slight tilt of the head. He didn’t answer and brought back his attention to the discussion between his followers, while General fixed him and his knight attentively.

____________________________________________

During the day, Rey would always find an occupation to fill her time. She need that, vitally, to keep the darkness that lingered in her mind away. Her servants noticed that it verged on restlessness. Fortunately, there was always much to do around her new quarters. The Queen’s rooms were filled with cupboards crawling with the most strange and exotic objects. She kept rummaging through them, searching for the most interesting pieces that she gathered and organised according to a self-imposed strict order. 

Lately, her handmaidens had been smuggling electronic parts for her to repair her little droid friends. They didn’t mind taking some time from their breaks to visit the local markets or searching through the palace’s waste to find the pieces she needed. Most of the time, they would bring the wrong part, their knowledge of electronics quite basic, though, thanks to their effort, BB-8 was, slowly yet surely, starting to recover his full capacities. 

At sunset, the servants would sense the growing excitement of Rey. She would start to look through the window, as if she were pleading with the night to come faster. They knew why. 

Rey waited for Kylo Ren, every night. She remained awake, patiently, in the calm of her new quarters. At that hour, her handmaidens would have usually retired for the night while BB-8 remained with her, as if he was waiting for him too. 

Sometimes, she felt playful. Tonight, when she sensed him coming to her through the secret passage that liked her quarters to his, she quickly undressed and slipped under the sheets. She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, but she couldn’t retain the little smile that crept over her lips when he entered the room. 

She could hear every one of his movements and every breath. She could feel his amusement while he examined her form over the bed. She kept her eyes shut, but she it was as if she could see him moving around the bedroom, removing his garments and getting ready to join her. She imagined his smile and her heartbeat quickened. Her breathing became louder and she thought to herself that she couldn’t keep her act much longer. 

Rey felt the mattress sinking as he crept behind her, delicately. Suddenly, he took her between his arms and squeezed her without restrain, causing her to gasp in surprise. 

“I know you are awake”, he said with a laughter in his voice. 

“Hum?

- I missed you, my beautiful queen”. 

He said it to her every night. Every night, he would shower her with kisses and caresses. Tonight, he peppered her face with little tender pecks as she pretended to struggle against his hold. 

“You are not going anywhere!” he told her and she went unexpectedly still. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned. 

She turned her head to look into his eyes with a tender though sad smile. 

“What’s wrong, Rey?” he insisted, feeling worry grow inside of him. 

“It’s nothing!”

Her smile became brighter and she held his face to place a loving kiss on his nose. He laughed, quickly forgetting the unease he just felt before. 

They slept, one against the other, peacefully. He wouldn’t let go of her. He kept his arms tightly locked around her delicate body. It helped him, to feel her so close to him, to keep his nightmares away. With her, he felt serene, his inner turmoil distinctively less powerful. But tonight…Tonight he was visited by a vision. He saw his uncle, turning his back to him, broodily ignoring the call that a little girl was addressing to him: 

“No! Don’t leave me!”

The Jedi seemed unmoved. He ignored her. 

“Master Luke! I need you! Help me!”

Suddenly, Kylo Ren realized that it wasn’t his dream he was seeing. 

He opened his eyes and in the dark, he could distinguish the trembling form of Rey. She was panting, small heartbreaking moans escaping her lips. 

He brought her closer and caressed her forehead desperately. He kissed her temple and murmured into her ear: 

“Rey! It is just a dream! Wake up, Rey”!

She opened her eyes and for a short moment, she seemed shocked to see him, then she tightened her grip around him. He rocked her body against his in a soothing motion. She whimpered and he felt powerless against her pain. 

“It was just a dream”, he repeated, softly and she slowly regained her calm again. 

Her breathing grew more even and the tension in her muscles disappeared. 

“Are you…are you alright?” he asked. 

She didn’t answer and he became more alarmed. 

“You saw it!” he heard her say, and he couldn’t decide if the was resentment in her voice.

“Yes”, he conceded, without hesitation, even if he dreaded her reaction. 

She didn’t respond and Kylo Ren felt compelled to give her some space and tried to untangle his arms around her, but, against any expectation, Rey clung on to him. 

“No! Please. Stay”, she murmured in his ear. “Help me forget”. 

He sensed her hot breath caressing his cheek. He touched her face with his lips until he reached her mouth and he kissed her, passionately, desperately, as if he could absorb all the pain she had ever felt. 

She met his kisses with equal fervour, her moans growing more wanton, more delicious to his ears, enflaming his insides with desire. He grew more bold and insistent. That was what she wanted and he would gladly give it to her. 

He hungrily caressed her body, his hands feasting on her soft skin. 

She opened her tights sighing deeply in pleasure. 

“Kylo”, she called him languidly and he smiled in satisfaction. 

He remembers how she started calling him by his name again. It had been sudden, like a surprise she prepared for him and when she said it, she didn’t comment, as if she never called by any other name. And yet, he knew that change meant something very important.

It filled him with awe, the beauty of that word when she said it. His name, two syllables that brought back their shared history, the sinuous path they had to walk to finally be united. 

She moved lazily, enticingly under him and he felt the tenderness of her breast caressing his chest in the most exquisite way. He brought his hand between them to feel her and he was pleased to know that she was ready for him. As he dipped his fingers between her lower lips, they were covered with her wetness and he couldn’t resist the impulse to taste it. He licked his fingers, slowly, savoring her: 

“Intoxicating!” he commented and Rey hummed in approval. 

He entered her slowly and the sound of her trembling voice while she welcomed him enchanted him. His thrusts were unhurried and she undulated her pelvis under him just as deliberately. The sound of their soft moans mingled together and as they felt their shared pleasure grow, they struggled to keep a slow pace. 

“Come inside my head”. 

He said spontaneously, obeying to a strange impulse that he couldn’t bring himself to regret. 

He felt her surprise and incomprehension and he further encouraged her: 

“Come see how I feel about you”. 

He took her hand and kissed the tip of her fingers, a low moan leaving his parted lips. They were both panting, moving against each other with increasing abandon. Yet, Rey hesitated for a while before she finally clasped her lover’s head between her hands and plunged inside his unconsciousness. 

Since there first encounter, they have both fought to prevent each other from accessing their inner thoughts. They both acknowledged their mutual potential for mind reading and had to develop their capacities to build mental walls to resist each other’s assaults. The interrogation of Rey by Kylo Ren had been the only time when they had truly shared their thoughts, until now. 

As she went deeper inside his mind, Rey felt an overwhelming wave of excitement taking control of her senses. She felt Kylo Ren’s feelings and they slowly became her own: his desire, powerful, all consuming, his need to possess her completely. 

“Yes!” she screamed. “You are mine!” 

“Yes”, he agreed while he moved between her legs. 

She scratched the skin of his back, ignoring how he hissed in pain. She knew it exited him. She could feel it. 

“You belong to me!” she proclaimed, her voice low, darkly seductive. 

“I am yours. I am your slave”. 

She grabbed his ass and brought him deeper inside her. She screamed at the sensation of fullness and he growled as her thighs shivered against his hips. He lifted his chest and resumed his thrusts, now more powerful and unforgiven than ever. He put his hands on her breasts and kneaded them, abandoning all kind of finesse, unhinged as he was. 

Rey screamed, repeatedly, fuelling his pleasure. Something was happening to her. For a short moment, she thought she had become the two of them at once, but her own climax shattered that fragile state and an unabashed pleasure invaded all her senses. 

She could have withdrawn, after he came a few moments after her. She should have. But it felt so right, to be thus joined to him. The emptiness they often felt when their bodies got separated somehow felt less strong now that they were together in thought. 

However, as he let himself stretch out on top of her, she sensed his rational thoughts taking control of his mind again, blurred as they had been by pleasure. His feelings crushed her: His fear, his anger, doubt and regret. Devastating, excruciating regret that seemed to devour his heart like an illness. 

Kylo Ren heard her sob, painfully and before he could react, she started crying, hot tears flowing from her eyes: 

“No, no, Rey! Forgive me”. 

Those words, he promised himself not to pronounce them again a long time ago. The truth was that he feared them. He feared the weakness that they could reveal in himself. Though, as he rubbed his face against Rey’s, covering himself with her tears, begging for forgiveness revealed ease and inconsequential comparing to the guilt that he felt.

“Rey! Don’t cry!”

“Kylo!” she mumbled and he hated the pity that he detected in her tone. 

She kissed him and slowly, her tears stopped and she regained control of her emotions. She reached for his head with her fingers and delicately massaged his scalp. 

“Forgive me!” he reiterated in a hushed voice and she answered, softly: 

“You don’t have to apologise. I…I want to know you, everything about you. 

The light of dawn was gradually illuminating the room, and as Kylo Ren looked into Rey’s eyes, he could see how sincere and determined she was. He couldn’t believe, at that moment, that such a pure and powerful creature wanted him, him who was so flawed and irredeemable. She wasn’t afraid of the despair that dwelled inside of him. 

He put his head over her chest and listened to the steady beat of her heart until he felt asleep again while she continued caressing his head soothingly. Before he succumbed completely to slumber, he whispered against her skin: 

“I always knew, from the moment I saw you, that you would be the only person that could ever understand me”. 

____________________________________________

As the morning came, they were both more light-hearted. They smiled at each other affectionately while Kylo Ren was dressing up and Rey was sitting on the bed. 

“What have you planned for the day?” he asked Rey. 

“The usual”, she replied nonchalantly, playing with a thread that came loose from the bedsheet. 

Kylo Ren recalled her nightmare and he was suddenly concerned. He hesitated as he put on his gloves and Rey noticed his slight frown. 

“You seem troubled”, she said and it encouraged him to ask her:

“Tell me Rey: Are you…unhappy?” 

She lifted her head in surprise and fixated him, her mouth falling agape. She brought her eyebrows together and seemed deeply pensive: 

“I am happy when you are with me”. 

He frowned, troubled by the ambiguous meaning of her answer. 

Kylo Ren was overcome with guilt. She wasn’t happy, he was certain of it. What did he expect, though? How could he think that she was even slightly satisfied with her situation? He knew her. She was a wild creature, untamed and fierce. She had always lived free and he had deprived her of that freedom. 

Things cannot go on like this. 

He wanted to make her feel better.

“Will you come with me? I want to show you something”

She stared at him, her eyes widening in surprise. Still, she didn’t hesitate for long. She quickly dressed up and took the hand that Kylo Ren was offering her. 

Kylo Ren didn’t put his mask and Rey nearly reminded him of it before she decided against it. He held her hand and they both run through the palace, crossing some stunned members of the staff who didn’t have the time to recognize them or to realize that it was their emperor’s face they were seeing for the first time. 

They arrived at a small gate that gave them access to a part of the gardens that Rey hadn’t visited yet. They were stairs coming out of the wall, skillfully hidden as they were painted in the same off-white color of the rest of the palace. 

“Let’s go!” encouraged Kylo Ren and she followed him, steadily climbing the steps until they reached the roof of the palace. 

Rey had no idea that it was possible to reach it and she was delighted by the discovery. The view from the top of the building was tremendous. She could see the gardens, the city of Theed and beyond, the forests and the lakes, the fabulous nature of Naboo. 

They were alone on the roof and it encouraged Rey to twirl around and run freely towards the edges while Kylo Ren watched her with unconcealed amusement. 

In the sky appeared a flock of birds, probably migrating towards their winter habitat, now that the summer was ending. As they passed over the palace, Rey climbed a domed structure that would allow her to seeing better the flying creatures. She reached with her hand as they flew above her head, cawing loudly as if they were afraid she could catch them. 

Rey gasped in delight. She let her hand lifted towards the sky and a light shone in Kylo Ren’s eyes as he watched her earnest smile, her hair locks flying freely with the breeze. 

He knew then that she had changed him. He knew then that he loved her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello dear readers! 
> 
> I know: It has been tooo long since I have updated this story and I just hope you still want to continue reading it.  
> I wish I had a reason to explain why I didn't write any new material for so long apart from me being such a procrastinator (they say it is due to perfectionism...let's go with that)!
> 
> I kept receiving kudoes and lovely comments even during this long hiatus and it kept me determined to continue this story. Thank you! 
> 
> I am always so grateful for your comments! I am as hungry for them as Rey for food!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey gets the chance to leave the palace and visit the city of Theed.  
> Things don't go as well as she hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers,  
> Thank you for your support and especially for your patience. It took me some time to post this chapter because I wanted to finish the following one and post them together at the same time. They both lay down the set for the last arc of this story.  
> I know! I can't believe it is coming to an end soon. I grew quite attached to this fic, but I have to offer it a decent rather than dragging it any further.  
> As always, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions. Your comments make me chirp like BB-8!

Of the three handmaidens which served Lady Rey, Tania was the only one who came from Naboo. Sana left Ryloth at a young age and Lyn’s family was Mandalorian, though no one could tell because of her gentle and shy nature.

Tania’s father was still alive and lived with her brother and his family in Theed. On her rare day-offs, she often visited them. Her brother and his wife were sometimes annoyingly concerned about her and wanted her to consider remarrying. She had been down that road already. Her first marriage had been an arranged one and ended in disaster, putting her off such union permanently.

Her two nieces were always delighted to see her, especially since she started bringing them all sorts of delights and small gifts offered by her mistress. As for her dad, even if he was a grumpy old man who communicated almost exclusively through grunts and growls, she believed he trusted her and respected her choices and she was grateful for it.

Today, she arrived at her brother’s house a bit late. There was much to do at the palace and she didn’t want to leave her two fellow handmaidens without giving them some help. She sat next to her father at the porch and breathed deeply, enjoying the caress of the sun over her face.

“Someone came for you yesterday”, she heard him say.

“What?” she was as much surprised by the news as by her father’s rare demonstration of eloquence.

“A man. He wanted to talk to you.

- Who was it, father? Another suitor?” 


She knew the answer already. Her father wouldn’t bother mentioning such matters.

“No. I believe it was a foreigner. He asked if Lady Rey’s servant lived her.

- What did you tell him?  
- I told him that he has been misinformed.  
- What did he want?  
- He didn’t say”.  



A deep frown settled on Tania’s features. She couldn’t figure out who this stranger was and what he wanted from her.

Soon enough, her nieces came to smother her with their overwhelming kisses and hugs and she forgot about the mysterious visit.

When the night came, she headed for the palace. Her family lived in a rather populated part of the city and she feeled safe enough to walk alone in the dark. However, the climate was getting colder now that summer was getting at an end and there weren’t many people outside, instead preferring the warmth of their houses.

A hooded man came out of a narrow alley and stood before Tania. He had obviously been waiting  for her.

“Don’t come closer or I’ll scream so loud half of Naboo will hear it!” she reacted instantly, her face not betraying an ounce of fear.

“I mean you no harm. I just need to talk to you.

- You must think me a fool if you believe I would listen to a stranger lurking in the dark.  
- I beg you! This is important! I have a message for your mistress.  
- My mistress? What do you want from her?  
- She has to know that her friends are still alive. That The Resistance is still alive!” 


When she heard the word “resistance”, Tania’s eyes widened in panic. Fear settled in her stomach but her mind was clear enough for her to quickly put things together.

“You are the man who came to my brother’s house! Have you any idea how much danger you have put my family into?

- I am sorry! I had to. Please, tell her that she is not alone, that her friend Finn will come to rescue her.  
- Who says she needs rescue? She knows how to take care of herself”. 


The sound of an incoming group of people interrupted their exchange. The stranger took a few steps back, fearing he might be seen.

“She has to know”, he repeated before disappearing in a hurry.

Tania sighed in relieve when the sound of his running steps faded away. 

________________________________________

Trust is earned, they say. But truth is that trust is often a gamble. One chooses to give their trust to someone because they want to believe that they deserve it. They hope that they are  
worth it.

Kylo Ren trusted Rey enough to answer her questions, at least when he was able to. For she had been challenging him in the most unforgiven way.

It started with her asking him about his scars. As they laid side by side, she would caress them one by one and inquire about their origins and he chose to tell her, every single story, even when it didn’t show him under the most flattering light. When she came to touch the one he had on  
his face, he took her hand in his and kissed her fingertips.

“This one”, he said with a tender smile, “was given to me by the one that made me see the truth”.

She smiled back, though he could see a small glimmer of sadness in her eyes.

Soon, she grew more confident and more audacious. She asked him about his childhood, about his parents. These were things he prefered not to think about, and yet, he felt compelled to tell her, as if she had cast a truth spell on him.

There were no such things as truth spells. What made him confide in her so easily was the certainty that she never judged him. Even when he told her about his worst deeds, she still had that warmth in her gaze.

“Why did you leave the Jedi academy?

- Because I didn’t belong there. I couldn’t bare to continue living a lie”. 


How easily the words came to him! They flowed freely out of his lips. He even felt relief, to be able to share those thoughts, finally, with someone who could understand.

When they made love and she would mutter his name in that enticing voice of hers, he would stop to watch her beautiful face, the blush on her cheeks, her parted wet lips, and think that he had never been so happy.

He finally knew what his grandfather had felt. Snoke called it a weakness, dismissively, but he was wrong. Vader loved Padmé enough to betray the Jedi order. He loved his son enough to betray his master. Could it be what gave him his determination, what made him strong?

Snoke was the subject that Kylo Ren wasn’t willing to discuss. His master was long dead now, yet his shadow still lurked over the young emperor. He desired nothing more than to be free of him.

________________________________________

Kylo Ren circled Rey’s waist and nuzzled her ear.

“You are awfully quiet this morning”, he commented while he admired their reflection in the standing mirror. “Are you nervous?

- No”.

She smiled at him and it warmed his heart. He would never get enough of her cute dimples.

Actually, Rey was very excited, for today she finally got to leave the palace and discover the city of Theed. Kylo Ren surprised her, a few days ago, when he told her that she was free to visit the Naboo capital if she wanted to. She had to be accompanied by an escort, though, but it was an inconsequential detail that didn’t affect her enthusiasm.

“You know you don’t have to dress down to blend in. Everyone will know who you are”, he commented on the plain outfit she had selected for the day, black trousers and a simple beige sleeveless top.

“That’s not why I chose to wear these clothes. I imagine there will be a lot of walking around and I want to be comfortable.

- So practical!”

He kissed her on the cheek for so long that she burst into laughter. Her voice delighted him and he knew he would gladly stay with her all day if he hadn’t so many responsibilities he needed to attend to.

He turned around and went to take his mask over the bedside table. He noticed how Rey’s wary gaze lingered on the infamous object. He had no doubt that she hated it, but he still wouldn’t give it up.

“Rey, Io Ren will be accompanying you today.

- What?”

Her face betrayed her dismay.

“You don’t like her?” he asked.

Rey seemed hesitant, as if she had to carefully ponder her response:

“I don’t trust her”, she confessed.

“I don’t trust her either, but I trust she will protect you.

- I don’t need protection!

- I know that! But I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you”.

They looked into each other’s eyes and their exchange continued in silence. He wouldn’t tell her the real reason he was tasking a Knight of Ren to escort her. He was afraid she might try to escape.

Rey didn’t even try to hide the look of betrayal. Will he ever trust her not to leave him? Apparently, his fear of losing her was stronger than anything.

Kylo Ren leaned down to kiss her, his way to apologise and ask for her understanding, but she refused it and turned away her pouting face. He snorted to hide his disappointment before donning his mask and leaving the room without a single word.

When she found herself alone, Rey became overwhelmed with melancholy. It was during such moments that her doubts flooded her mercilessly. Fortunately enough, Lyn came into the bedchamber and prevented her from dwelling on these feelings for too long.

The handmaiden suggested to help her mistress with her hair, seeing that she was already dressed, which gave Rey an idea. She asked Lyn to gather it into three buns.

“I used to wear my hair this way back when I lived in Jakku”.

Thanks to the detailed instructions given by her mistress, the servant knew how to arrange her hair as she wanted it. When she looked into the mirror, Rey felt as if she were meeting an old friend she hadn’t seen in a long time.

_________________________

When Tania entered the room, she didn’t seem as lively and confident as she usually was. Rey picked on that right away:

“Tania, are you alright?”

The older handmaiden lifted suddenly lifted her head, as if interrupted in her deep thought.

“Yes, My Lady”.

Tania looked at Lyn and saw that her friend was also concerned. She definitely wasn’t succeeding in hiding her anguish.  

“Lady Rey, something happened yesterday.

- Did something happen to your family?

- No, no! …a man came to talk to me when I was coming back to the palace. He wanted me to give you a message.

- A message?

- Yes…Lady Rey, I don’t know if this is for real. I fear it might be a trap. 

- What is it, Tania? Tell me”.

Tania addressed Lyn, then: “Maybe it’s better if you leave.

- Why?” asked the young maid.

“What I am about to say is compromising. I am not sure if you want to hear it.

- I would rather stay, if Lady Rey allows it!”

They both looked at their mistress and she nodded in agreement, though she seemed very tense.

“The man, a stranger, said that The Resistance was still alive and that Finn was coming to rescue you, My Lady”.

As soon as she heard these words pronounced by Tania, Rey was on her, grabbing her shoulders and searching her face for any trace of doubt.

“Are you sure he said “Finn”?” Rey asked. 

Her handmaiden had rarely seen her so out of control of her own emotions.

“Yes. I remember you telling us about your friend Finn. I am certain that was the name he mentioned”.

Rey panted loudly and both Tania and Lyn feared she might faint, but she surprised them both when she took Tania in her arms, laughing and crying tears of joy. The maid hugged her back, the happiness of her mistress so sincere it was contagious.

“Finn is alive! He is alive!” Rey kept repeating, her words muffled by her cries.

Lyn started crying too and when Sana came into the room and found them all three in that state, she shouted:

“What is happening here?”

Rey, Tania and Lyn all started laughing at her reaction and she felt even more in over her head.

________________________________________

As she headed for the palace’s exist, her footing so light she thought she might fly, Rey met General Phasma. The officer had been absent for a few weeks now, probably to recruit and train new soldiers in preparation for the war, Rey thought.

Phasma saluted her with respect, as she usually did:

“Lady Rey”, she smiled with a tilt of her head.

“General, it has been so long.

- Indeed, I have been off-world, lately”.

Rey nodded in agreement. All seemed perfectly normal but she had a strange premonition.

“The Emperor asked me to select the best guards to accompany you today. I hope they will prove worthy.

- I am sure they will”, answered Rey distractedly, still considering the odd feeling.

Three guards came forth and surrounded her, giving her the unpleasant impression that she was a prisoner. Io Ren awaited them at the great entrance and Rey felt even more oppressed by the dark aura that the knight always exhaled.

________________________________________

Io Ren was the most elegant woman that Rey had ever seen. As she walked next to her, her movements seemed all deliberate and sophisticated. Even her frightening forged metal mask didn’t alter her striking grace.

Her presence though, added to the guards who flanked them, was distracting and Rey was unable to enjoy her walk around the city as she had hoped. People gathered around them, curious to see the famous last Jedi, the new “Queen”. They wanted to greet her and speak to her but the guards prevented them from getting any closer and soon Rey was feeling distressed.

“Do you have to be so on your guard? They don’t mean any harm.

- How can you be so sure?” asked Io Ren and Rey could easily distinguish the irony in her tone.

“I don’t detect any darkness coming from  them .

- And you sense it coming from me?”

Rey regretted her reactive remark. She didn’t want to compromise herself in anyway with the knight.

When they arrived to a less crowded part of Theed, Io Ren resumed in a calm voice:

“I wish you would trust me more, Lady Rey.

- Why would I trust you?” the former Jedi snapped.

“Because I respect you.

- And you think that would make me trust you? You are a Darksider. 


- And therefore untrustworthy. Is that what you think? Yet, you seem to care for Kylo Ren. Isn’t he like me, a disciple of the dark side, a Knight of Ren?”

Rey bit her lips and chose not to react to such an obvious provocation.

“I admire your kind Lady Rey.

- My kind?

- The Jedi.

- How? When all your master Snoke did was try to eliminate us.

- He was my master, indeed. I was devoted to him, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t have my own opinions.

- And what were they?” asked Rey, huffing in derision.

“That the Jedi had something precious that, we, darksider could never have. Loyalty”.

Rey turned to look at Io Ren in surprise. She would never had expected such an answer.

“The Dark Side encourages betrayal. Disciples keep trying to eliminate their masters and their rivals. If only we could join our forces towards a common goal. The Jedi knew that: that only through unity could victory be achieved.

- This is very uncommon talk coming from a darksider!

- I suppose, then, that we are both unique in our own way.

- How so?

- I am a darksider who admires the Jedi and you are a lightsider who loves a Knight of Ren”.

Love? The word stabbed Rey deep in the heart.

They both fell silent until they reached a lively commercial district. Rey was gladly diverted from her thoughts by the commotion. When they passed by a shop that sold electronic and mechanical components, she was reminded of BB-8 and the last part he was missing.

She didn’t have any money on her, but if the store had the right part, she would ask one of her handmaiden to come back and get it later.

Rey informed her escort that she wanted to have a look inside and Io Ren nodded in agreement. When she got inside, she found out that the shop belonged to Sullustan who reacted as soon as he led eyes on her:

“Get out! We have nothing for you here!” he shouted at Rey. 

“Why?” she asked him, outraged.

“You are the mistress of The Emperor. Don’t you know what he did to Senator Sooro? He accused him of an attack he never organised and imprisoned him.   

- You better watch your tongue, shopkeeper”, warned him Io Ren, suddenly appearing behind Rey.

Her calm yet menacing voice and the subtle move of her hand over the hilt of her lightsaber were enough to change the shopkeeper’s attitude. 

“You must know I have nothing to do with it!” yelled Rey, as if she had to defend herself.

He didn’t even hear her, his eyes widening at the sight of the knight’s deadly weapon.

“I am sorry. I beg you to forgive me!” he pleaded pathetically.

Rey turned to face Io Ren and told her in a monotone voice that betrayed her discouragement: “Please, I am sure he didn’t mean what he said”.

The shopkeeper nodded anxiously and without giving him another look, Rey left the store.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey has chose between her intiegrity and her devotion to Kylo Ren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers, 
> 
> I have to apologize for not answering your comments lately. I didn't reply right away and I feared you might not even remember what I was talking about if you received my answer so long after you commented. I will do my best to reply as quickly as I can from now on!

At the palace, Sana flirted unashamedly with a stormtrooper. She was so obvious in her manipulation that he should have picked on it right away, by soldiers were easily distracted by her Twi’lek charms.

“So, did you miss me?” she asked him, biting her lower lip and drawing circles on his chest piece with her index finger.

“Oh, yes!” he laughed.  
  
“Where have you been, all this time?  
- On a mission.  
- A mission? Was it off-world?  
- Why do you want to know?  
- I want to know if there were other girls I should worry about.  
- None were as beautiful as you”.  


He was one of General Phasma’s stormtroopers and Sana trusted that he would sooner or later give her the information she needed. She circled her arms around his shoulders and pressed her body against his armour.

“Show me that stupid face so I could kiss it”.

He complied, laughing stupidly and revealed an awfully sunburnt face:

“You have...a healthy glow! How did you get so tanned?  
- You would know. The sun of your home planet is rather bright!  
- You were on Ryloth?  
- Yeah”.

He tried to chase her lips, but she still had questions.

“What were you doing there?  
- I don’t know. We were chasing fugitives or something. Most of the time, we had to stand in the heat while the general talked to witnesses. It was so hot, we couldn’t stand to keep our armors on, but the general always caught us when we removed our helmets”.

The soldier talked without thinking, distracted by his desire to finally kiss Sana. To his greatest disappointment, she untangled her arms and walked away from him.

“What’s wrong? Why are you leaving?  
- I knew you were chasing other Twi’lek girls! Otherwise, why would you try to hide that you were on Ryloth?  
- Sana, Darling, I swear there is no other girl beside you!”

The handmaiden rolled her eyes in annoyance and heard him call her name while she headed for her mistress’ quarters.

__________________________________________

“Ryloth?” reacted Rey to the news. “So that’s where General Phasma was.  
- They were apparently searching for fugitives” added softly the handmaiden so she couldn’t be heard by the two guards that followed them around, while they took a walk through the gardens.

Rey recalled the strange sensation she felt when she last talked to the general. She had a premonition that something important was happening. 

Could it be that it had to do with the surviving members of The Resistance? 

The two Knights of Ren she met a few months ago, Kinga Ren and Solon Ren, had been dispatched to Ryloth. Was it also to track the location of her friends? That would mean that Kylo Ren knew about them. 

Rey was overcome by concern and even the earnest efforts of Sana to brighten her mood went mostly unnoticed. 

__________________________________________

Rey needed something that would cheer her spirits ups. Her mind was in total turmoil.

She could see that Kylo Ren had noticed the change in her attitude since her visit to the city. She was pensive, removed. Her lover reacted as he usually did when faced with uncertainty. He became irritable and kept pressing her unrelenting to reveal what happened, but she remained evasive. 

She just couldn’t confess to him how the words of the shopkeeper kept repeating in her mind. They affected her more than they should, because they closely echoed her own fears. No one cared if she embraced the emperor’s decisions or not, she was associated with him and by extent she was on his side.

The knowledge that Finn and other members of the Resistance had survived brought her solace against the storm that raged inside her head. She didn’t allow herself to think about it much, though, fearing she might betray the secret if she unintentionally let Kylo Ren see inside her mind. She kept the thought hidden in a precious little box and she dared to pick inside only when she was certain no one could see.

Rey gladly welcomed the interruption when her handmaiden, Lyn, came in flitting around the room excitedly. She had never seen the young maid so agitated before. 

 “I found it! I finally found it!”, Lyn shouted, jumping in place. 

Rey looked at her curiously, struggling for a moment to grasp the meaning of her servant’s words. Then, it came to her and her face brightened at the realisation:

“The last part for BB-8!  
- Yes, my lady!”

At the same moment, Tania and Sana came into the room, earnest smiles on their lips, followed by BB-8, chirping and rolling enthusiastically. They had apparently given him the good news already.

Lyn took a small purse she kept hidden inside her sock and untied it to produce a small PCB that Rey and the droid recognised immediately. 

“This is it, right?” the handmaiden asked, even though she didn’t need any more confirmation than the reaction of her mistress and the droid. 

“Yes! Yes, that’s the one!” Rey’s voice trembled with emotion, her dimples deepening, though her servants could barely hear her with all the happy shrill BB-8 was making. 

The small robot run towards Lyn and patted her calf affectionately, beeping what she knew could only be a heartfelt thank you, even though she didn’t understand droid binary. 

Sana and Tania agreed to take care of her tasks to allow Lyn to assist Rey while she installed the last missing piece that would restore his former personality to the little droid. It didn’t take too long and they were both so excited they held their breaths in expectation. BB-8 seemed pensive, as if he were trying on a new outfit and were considering if it suited him properly. 

The few bits he gave had to be translated by Rey to her handmaiden: 

“He says he feels strange, like he remembered something he thought he has forgotten.   
- And that’s a good thing, right, Lady Rey?”

BB-8 beeped loudly, then, nearly startling them. He spiralled, his body turning around and around while his head remained still, his happiness so evident it was exhilarating. Rey and Lyn both laughed open-heartedly: 

“You are finally back to your former self, my friend!” congratulated him the former Jedi. 

The small droid whistled an answer and she suddenly became grave. Her delighted expression was replaced by concern and she had to go to the window to hide her reaction from her handmaiden. 

“What’s wrong, My Lady? What did he say?” worried Lyn, but she received no answer. 

Rey couldn’t tell her what BB-8 had said, what his first reaction was when he thought he was finally strong enough: 

“We can finally escape, now!”

___________________________________________

During a meeting when Kylo Ren complained that the empire efforts to start the war were stalling, Io Ren put forward an idea: 

“Maybe we have to change tactics. We should make the crime bosses turn against each other.   
- Isn’t that what the Knights of Ren are supposed to accomplish?” remarked Hux, not bothering to hide his derision.

“They have been working to ensure that there won’t be an alliance against the empire between them, yes”, she elaborated. “However, we could force them to enter into conflict with one another, if we can convince them that they have betrayed each other.   
- That would take a lot of time and resources...   
- Our dear Senator Sooro is awaiting trial! What he could reveal then can prove very valuable to us.   
- Does he know something?   
- What he knows is not relevant. What is important is that we can make him say whatever we want”. 

Hux snorted, knicking himself that his rival was yet again proving her valuable tactical skills. Io Ren addressed a knowing look to Kylo Ren and he saw, burning in her eyes, the frightening determination that made her so formidable. 

_________________________________________

“You know he’s innocent!” Rey insisted during supper, ignoring her lover’s efforts to avoid the subject. 

He didn’t know how she managed to be informed about Senator’s Sooro Trial, but she seemed determined to discuss the matter with him. 

“How do you be so sure, Rey?   
- I know. And you know it too. Why do persist in abusing him?”

Kylo Ren slammed his fork loudly over the table, startling the serving droid who passed by. 

“I thought you wanted nothing to do with politics”, he mocked. “He doesn’t risk a death sentence, if that’s what bothers you.   
- But he was imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit!  
- Believe me, he is far more useful in prison than he was in the senate”. 

Rey was shocked by Kylo Ren’s words. She barely had enough appetite to finish her meal. 

_________________________________________

A few days ago, Senator Sooro was transferred to Naboo. He was held in a detention facility adjacent to the palace. Things had escalated quickly and a public trial was soon to be held. 

Rey could no longer bare to remain idly by while an innocent man was condemned for a crime he didn’t commit. She had tried to pretend, that there was nothing outside the palace, that she didn’t care for anything, back when she believed that her friends were gone. She had wanted to avenge them, when she thought she had nothing left, but couldn’t succeed. She couldn’t kill Kylo Ren when he was the one left for her in the world. 

But she was no longer as good as pretending since she left Jakku. She couldn’t pretend she didn’t have feelings for her enemy, and now, she couldn’t ignore his plots, the harm he was causing every day after he would leave her bed. Now, passivity appeared to her as criminal as participation. 

Maybe it was the knowledge that her friends were still alive that gave her courage, but when the idea came to her, she didn’t hesitate. 

Her handmaidens watched in silence their mistress while she put on one of their dresses, their disagreement evident. 

“So? How is it? Is it believable?”

The three servants exchanged worried looks and Tania had to answer for her friends. 

“It does, my lady. But I am afraid someone will recognise you in the palace.   
- I know. I will go by nightfall. As soon as I will cross the palace’s threshold, it will be easier to reach the prison.   
- Let me go with you. I can help you”, reiterated Sana, but Rey gave her the same reply.  

“No. They will suspect something if you go together. Try to stay inside the Queen’s rooms while I am gone. I will do my best to return before The Emperor gets back”. 

They have tried to warn her, to convince her that it was too dangerous, but she proved resolute. 

Before she left the room, Lyn gave her a desperate hug, as if she feared it was the last time she would see her. 

Things went as smoothly as Rey hoped, however. No one seemed to really notice her because of her servant’s outfit and she tried to act as meekly and unnoticeable as she could, kind of like when she first arrived in the palace. However, she had to give Tania’s name to the men who guarded the main entrance. Fortunately enough, they didn’t seem to know her handmaiden personally and allowed her to get out. 

Getting inside the detention facility proved more difficult. Rey had to draw from her scavenger and Jedi experiences to get through, climbing walls and relying on mind tricks to manipulate the guards. She rather prefered not to use such methods that would easily designate her if her intrusion were to be discovered, but she had no choice. 

When she reached Senator Sooro’s cell, she called him in his Sullustan tongue: 

“Senator!   
- Who’s there?   
- Please, I don’t have much time. I know you are innocent. I want to help you.   
- What? Are you… You are the Jedi!  
- I used to be. Please, you have to tell me. Do you know anything that could help me prove your innocence?   
- Master Rey. It is you, right? You shouldn’t compromise yourself. I am finished.   
- No! I know you didn’t organise the attack. They have nothing against you.   
- But they do.  
- What do you mean?   
- I have connections...with The Resistance. They know it. They have been trying to make me talk.   
- No!”

Rey heard the sound of steps getting closer. She had to leave, fast, but she needed to ask the senator: 

“Do you know where they are? The Resistance.   
- Yes.   
- Tell me. Please! I have to know.   
- Ryloth.   
- Ryloth…” Rey repeated in a whisper. 

It all came together now. The empire knew about her friends. They were tracking them and soon they will succeed in annihilating them, permanently. 

 “Senator, I won’t abandon you. I will do my best to help you”. 

The Sullustan didn’t answer, but Rey could sense his relief. He believed her. He trusted her because she was a Jedi. She promised herself she wouldn’t disappoint him.  

_________________________________________

When Kylo Ren arrived to Rey’s appartements, he found out that the door wouldn’t budge to let him in. He had no patience for such things and used The Force to slam it open brusquely. Inside, he saw Rey’s little astromech suspiciously running away from the control panel and he figured out instantly that he had been tampering with it. 

He stormed into his lover’s quarters, searching for her. He called her name over and over until one of her handmaiden came to meet him. 

“Where is she?” he screamed, his mask rendering his voice the more menacing. 

“She will soon be here, My Lord”, answered the Twi’lek, her apparent confidence further infuriating him. 

He had half a heart to choke her and force her to tell him where her mistress was, but even blinded by his anger, he knew that Rey would never forgive him if he ever harmed one of her precious servants. 

He pushed her aside, though, and stomped towards the exist, the ground trembeling under his feet. 

_________________________________________

Rey rushed as quickly as she could towards the palace. This time, she chose not to get through the main entrance. She searched for an unguarded part of the wall and climbed it discreetly. The gardens bathed in moonlight and she had to run from shadow to shadow until she reached a service door that allowed her to get inside. 

The moment she breathed in relief, she heard an unpleasantly familiar voice calling for her: 

“Lady Rey, how odd to meet you at such a late hour, and in such an outfit!” 

Rey turned around and met the smugly satisfied face of General Hux. 

“Was your meeting with Senator Sooro interesting?” 

She stared at him with vindictive eyes, lifting her chin in defiance: 

“It was  very  interesting. He confirmed he was innocent, as you and I know already.   
- Is he, though, innocent? I believe he has some things to hide”.

The implication was loud behind his words. Hux knew about the Resistance, Rey was certain. 

“I won’t tell Ren about your little escapade, if that’s what you’re afraid of”. 

Rey frowned in surprise: 

“Why?   
- We are allies, are we not?   
- No. We are not! You forced me to help you, once!   
- You don’t see it now, but even you will need help one day”. 

He walked slowly by her, his gaze fixated on her and she struggled to control the way her accelerated breathing betrayed her irritation. 

_________________________________________

Sana told her about Kylo Ren’s visit as soon as she crossed the door. Rey waited for him to return, imagining several excuses to explain her absence, but he didn’t show up. 

The next day, after a long sleepless night that she spent worrying about his reaction, a guard came to escort her to the training rooms. Rey didn’t expect to be thus summoned, but despite her apprehension, she agreed to follow him without complaining. 

Kylo Ren was waiting for her. As soon as she came into the emptied training room, he threw a training saber towards her and adopted a combat stance, awaiting her first move. 

It had been so long since they have trained together. He had been busy lately and he no longer needed to invent reasons to spend time with her as he used to. 

The training room soon resounded with the sound of the crossing training sabers. The emperor was silent, concentrated. When he met Rey’s gaze, she would offer him a nervous smile. She expected to be flooded with questions, to suffer his bad mood, but he seemed calm and focused and it proved even more disconcerting. 

“Why don’t we make things more interesting?” he suggested, all of a sudden. 

Rey tilted her head, expecting him to elaborate further: 

“You must be missing the feel of a real lightsaber in your hand!” 

Her eyes widened in surprise: 

“You want us to use lightsabers?”

He smirked and went to get the two lightsabers he had brought with him. She pouted, realising that he had planned this all along, and struggled to guess the point of it.

Kylo Ren threw her the hilt and she caught it easily in her hand. She looked down at it and felt a strange sensation running through her member. She’d never seen this weapon before and couldn’t guess how it belonged to. It was silent, or rather wouldn’t talk to her, despite the talent she had developed to read objects’ past. Yet, holding such a weapon brought back emotions she thought long gone. 

Rey sensed her opponent moving suddenly and had to react quickly to block his assault. In his eyes, she could see the reflection of the red and white beams crackling in contact. She frowned when he pressed with force, his jaw clenched and his lips trembling menacingly. 

He withdrew and circled her like a predator. His second attack was even more violent than the first and he nearly hit her arm with his lightsaber.

“What are you doing?” she screamed in indignation. 

“This is how you train when you are a Knight of Ren.  
- I am not a Knight of Ren!”

He charged again and this time she didn't hesitate. She avoided his blow, and with an elegant move, she stooped under his arm and hit him in the side with her elbow. He growled in frustration:

“Of course you are not a Knight of Ren. You are a Jedi! You would rather remain attached to that extinct order than to join me.   
- Kylo! I Why are we talking about this? Is this about last night?”

They moved in a circle, gauging each other in defiance. This felt very much like one of the duels the used to have when they fought on opposite sides. 

“You have never agreed with my views, Rey. Even now, I can see that you disagree with what I am accomplishing”. 

Rey stopped moving. She opened her mouth to reply then closed it, carefully considering her reply.   

“You can never be satisfied, can you?” she accused him, her firm tone allowing no concession. 

“It is not enough that I have chosen to stay with you.   
- Chosen? You think you have the choice?”

Rey balled her fist in irritation. She seeked her Jedi teaching to control the growing anger and prevent it from taking hold of her. 

“This is…” she hesitated. “This is over”. 

She turned the lightsaber off and threw the hilt violently against the floor, than headed for the exist. 

“Stop!” yelled Kylo Ren, his voice booming in fury. 

She stopped on her track, but didn’t turn around to face him. 

“You are such a hypocrite”, she couldn’t prevent herself from throwing at him. 

“I am the hypocrite?” he snorted in derision. “Do you think that Io didn’t tell me what happened when you were out in the city? You care more about what people think of you than you care about me”. 

Rey turned around, then, her features distorted by shock and indignation. 

“What do you want, Kylo? You want me to give up my beliefs, my values? What more can you want then all I have already given up for you? I gave you my freedom!”

He stomped towards her and before she could flee, he grabbed her arms and brought her so close to him she could feel his breath against her cheek when he talked: 

“I want you to stand beside me, like the ruler you deserve to be. The Resistance has poisoned your mind, but soon enough you will see the truth.   
- What truth?   
- That some of us have the responsibility to guide the others, to create a better world for everyone, whatever the means.   
- Even if those means are evil?   
- Yes! It is necessary! I have to do it, Rey. You see? I am like you, I cannot stand idly by when I know that I have the power to change things, to help the others.   
- You are not helping them! You are forcing them to bend to your own vision of what a perfect world should be.   
- Really? Why did you become a Jedi, then? Why did you join the Resistance? You too want to change the world according to your own views.   
- Let me go!”

Rey wiggled to get free of Kylo Ren’s hold. She’d had enough of this fruitless discussion, but he tightened his grip and laughed deliriously: 

“You have to face the truth, Rey. The Jedi have failed. Their idealistic values can’t be applied to the real world. Someone has to carry the burden and do what must be done!   
- Who are you trying to convince, Kylo? Me? You? I have seen it, in your mind. You don’t want to be The Emperor”. 

Her words fell heavily and she felt Kylo Ren letting go of her. He took a few steps back, his eyes fixating her, but void of any emotion. 

“I have to”, he murmured. “You know I have to. Chaos would reign if I wasn’t The Emperor. You know that, Rey. Tell me you know”. 

He seemed so sad, so burdened, she felt all her anger evaporating. She approached and circled his large chest with her arms. He looked down at her in surprise, as if he did expect such a reaction of her. 

“I need you, Rey. You can help me. You can tell me what to do.   
- No. I can’t”, she cried, her voice muffled by his chest.  

“You can make me a better ruler.   
- You ask too much of me, Kylo. Please!”

Delicately, he slipped his hand under her chin and forced her to look at him:

“I love you”, he said and she gasped, her eyelids fluttering.

He didn’t wait for an answer. He kissed her, tenderly, passionately, the brush of his lips translating the feelings he wanted her to know. 

“You thought I could bare to see you suffering, torn apart and not feel anything?” he whispered in her ear. “My love, my love”, he repeated over and over again while he slipped his arms under her thighs and swept her off her feet so he could carry her. 

“I can walk! I am not that tired!” she complained, half-heartedly. 

“I know”, he smiled. 

Kylo Ren’s heart felt less heavy as he carried the petite form of his beloved queen towards his quarters. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kylo can be such a jerk sometimes, can he? Fortunately, Rey has dealt with bigger jerks than him back when she was a scavenger on Jakku. 
> 
> Senator Sooro has been incarcerated before Finn and the surviving members of The Resistance moved to Pantora, so he couldn't give Rey the right information. 
> 
> I hope you are not too disappointed there aren't any sex scenes in the last too chapters. Actually, I have planned to end Kylo and Rey's fight with them having angry hot sex, but it didn't feel right somehow. It has to make sense, right? Anyway, I hope you will stick with this story and see how things will unfold next chapter *Blinkity blinky blink*.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren gets an idea to ensure that Rey would remain by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers, 
> 
> I can never say thank you enough for your comments and kudoes! Lately, I have been busy with work and school. I don't get to read nor watch movies as much as I want to. There is one thing I am still determined to do, despite all the homework I am supposed to do, and it is writing! Because it is something that I do not just for myself (though I enjoy it very much), but for my readers too! It fills me with pride to know that something that I have written can bring joy to someone else and help them escape and forget about their (homework and) difficulties even for a bit. 
> 
> I often forget to tell you that I have a tumblr, if you would like to say Hi or chat a bit about Reylo, writing, or anything else you'd like: lastmouseleft.tumblr.com
> 
> Warning: This chapter is mostly smut. I had to. Kylo and Rey made me do it.

Hux sneered when he saw The Emperor coming into the war room. The general could always tell when Ren had been with the Jedi at his complacency and confident demeanor. He almost reeked of sex.

The former First Order officer and now first advisor to the throne hated being so perceptive sometimes, but he also knew that his talent often proved very useful. Today, he noticed that Kylo Ren was distracted, not because of disinterest in the subject at hand, as it was usually the case, but because he was preoccupied.

After the meeting, Hux interpellated him and tried to incite him to talk. Fortunately, Ren was in need of a listening ear, whomever it was:

“She disagrees with the trial”, he said about Rey. “Sometimes I think she doesn’t approve of anything I do!

\- It is quite expected, isn’t? She used to be with The Resistance.

\- She’s been with them for such a short time! Why can’t she forget them? When will she get free of their influence?”

The general considered his following words carefully and tried to give his voice a reassuring spin when he spoke:

“Do you fear she might hold a grudge against you if she gets to know about the plan to catch the remaining survivors of The Resistance…My Lord?”

Kylo Ren glared at Hux from the corner of his eyes. He didn’t trust the officer’s unusual display of sympathy and consideration, but he was in need of reassurance.

“I am afraid she might decide to leave, sooner or later”.

The general frowned deeply and pursed his lips, feigning concern. Little did the young emperor know that his advisor was already quite aware of the situation. After years of rivalry, he came to know Kylo Ren as a friend should, without any of the affection though. He knew that the new emperor’s greatest weaknesses were his inability to control his emotions and the way he let irrational thought invade his reason, especially when it came to Rey. 

“There might be a way to compel her to stay”, said Hux, donning a conspiratorial air.

“If you mean using force or blackmail, it is out of the question!

\- No, My Lord! I was thinking about something far more pleasant for both of you. Lady Rey is young and healthy. Maybe it is time to consider building a new dynasty for the empire”.

Hux saw that he had made an impact at the way Kylo Ren straightened up  and seemed lost in his thought.

__________________________

If he had to be honest, Kylo Ren found the idea of a child quite alarming. He had promised himself, time and time again, that he would never make someone go through a childhood like the one he had. He feared that his progeny would be condemned to experience the same sufferance that he had to endure all his life and he believed that he had to put an end to the cycle of tragedy that seemed to irredeemably follow the Skywalker line.

Yet, he was so obsessed, so afraid of the possibility of losing Rey, he was prepared to go back on his word.

The more he thought about it, the more the idea appealed to him. He imagined Rey’s belly swollen with the fruit of their union and the image was at once beautifully soothing and strangely alluring. It seemed even erotic, the prospect of impregnating Rey, affecting her body, changing it, defining it as his own, forever. 

She would never leave him if they had a child. She would care too much for him, for them both.

Yes! That’s it! Rey would never abandon her child. That’s what happened to her and he couldn’t imagine her, when she was so generous and altruistic, turning out to be a neglecting parent. 

As soon as he finished attending to his duties, he went straight to Rey’s chambers. He found her in her bedroom, surrounded by her handmaidens. He usually tolerated their presence and even appreciated she had them to keep her entertained when he was gone, but sometimes he wished he could make them disappear. They luckily knew how to slip away as soon as he came into the room.

Each of them bowed in respect as they passed by him, even the imputent Twi’lek who kept her eyes to the floor this time. As soon as the door closed behind them, Kylo Ren was on Rey. He twisted her arm and searched frantically for something under her skin:

“What is going on?” shouted Rey who seemed positively shocked by his odd behaviour.

“Where is it?” he asked as he took her other arm to inspect it.

“Where is what?

\- Your implant”.

Rey withdrew her arm abruptly and her expression darkened. With a severe pout, she inquired:

“What do you mean my implant?

\- The contraceptive implant. I know you have one”.

Of course he knew. He knew the results of every medical exam she’d had since she arrived on Naboo. Out of protocol, medical droids suggested to install a contraceptive implant to every new patient and Rey had accepted, maybe sensing how her relationship with Kylo Ren was going to evolve.

“Why do you need to see it?” she asked curtly.

“I want you to remove it”.

She gasped, not caring to show her indignation. He could already see the anger that flared inside her shimmering  in her eyes.

“Kylo! You don’t get to tell me what to do with my implant. I decide if I remove it!

\- No! We get to decide, both of us.  
\- You can’t force me to do it.  
\- I am not trying to force you. I am asking you”.

Rey turned her head to the side to avoid his gaze. She crossed her arms, her eyes moved from one side to the other and she snorted in disbelief.

“Is this your way to ask me to give you a child?”

 He saw how distressed and offended she was, at the flushing of her cheeks and her shallow and rapid breathing. That was certainly not the reaction that he sought. He had been reckless and unconsidered and when he spoke again, he wanted to sound more tender:  

“Rey, I want us to have a family”.

She looked at him with an expression that translated both surprise and dismay:

“What’s got into you? I mean, have you thought things through?

\- I only know that I love and I want to be with you. Let us have a child, my love. We will provide him with everything you and I have been missing in our childhood.  
\- You want to have a child, while you are preparing for war? What kind of world do you want him to grow into?”

Kylo Ren’s enthusiasm deflated and his arm dangled to his side. He turned his back to her, just to avoid the sharp look of judgement and indignation she was gave him, and exhaled deeply, trying to hide his disappointment.

“Does the idea of having a child with me seem so repulsive to you?” he said eventually. 

He was being manipulative. He knew she was right but still wanted to have his way.

“You are being unfair! You know very well it is not true.

\- Do I? I sometimes wonder why you are still here with me”.

He didn’t get an answer and when he turned to face her again, she seemed lost in thought, staring vacantly.

“Rey?” he called her authoritatively, pulling her out of her reflection.

All of a sudden, Rey strode forward so she go could crush her small body against his heaving chest and circle her arms around him:

“Kylo! I know you want me to have your child because you love me. But, I can’t bring a being to life knowing that they will be unhappy.

\- Why? Why do you think that? I love you. I will love this child too. Our child!  
\- I know! Please, let us talk about this another time, alright? Let us think this through. I have missed you, my master”.

She bit her lower lip, blatantly using her charms to evade the discussion. Kylo Ren was about to insist, though when he noticed the way she looked up at him ravenously, darting her little tongue to wet her lips, the emperor knew that all his resolve was lost. 

She got on her tiptoes and tried to reach his lips to kiss them but he withdrew.

“No. Tonight, I want us to go to my quarters”.

Rey gasped, a jolt of excitement running through her. She knew that Kylo Ren was always much more demanding and bold when they were in his rooms.

____________________________

They came into his bedroom already all tangled up in each other. Kylo Ren pushed Rey against the wall with her back towards him and slammed his body against her, effectively trapping her.

He kissed her neck and she mewled.

“You will go to the center of the bed and sit on your haunches with you hands over your knees”, he instructed in a breathy yet commanding voice.

“And why would I obey?” she challenged with a smirk he could almost hear in her voice.

“Because a good apprentice knows that obedience is often rewarded with knowledge. And you are a good apprentice, aren’t you Rey?”

He grinded his pelvis against her behind and she jumped at the feeling of his hard cock.

“What kind of knowledge?” she asked, simulating innocence.

“The kind you only learn by experience.

\- Like lightsaber fighting?  
\- Yes!”

Even though he was the one to order her to go to the bed, Kylo Ren still growled when Rey stooped and elegantly passed under his arm to get free of his hold.

She couldn’t withhold a knowing grin as she obediently hunkered down at the center of the floor-bed. The last rays of lights penetrated through the glass ceiling and surrounded her with an angelic aura as she awaited quietly his next move.

Seeing her in this position of vulnerability, looking so pure and bathing in light made Kylo Ren grow feral. His lips twitched as he devoured her with lustful eyes, his desire so strong it verged on fury. He wanted to corrupt her, to make her completely his.

“Am I being punished?” she asked in pretend concern, when he could easily tell that she was amused by the situation. 

‘It depends. Have you done something bad?’ 

His voice was low and trembled menacingly, but Rey remained perfectly calm, raising her eyebrows slightly in curiosity. 

“I don’t think so”. 

Kylo Ren circled her and stopped just behind her. He reached for her back with his gloved hand  and slowly followed the shape of her spine with his index finger until he reached her nappe. He slowly caressed the hair at the back of her neck then seized it, forcing her to bend her neck backward and look up at him.

“Tell me, Rey! Tell what you have been hiding from me for years”.

Rey frowned then, when she understood his meaning, her lips crooked into an irresistible smile, at once innocence and impish. Even sitting on her haunches below him in a position of weakness, she knew she held power over him. 

“You mean when we were enemies?” She teased in a falsely naïve tone.

“Yes. You said to me before that you have known, for a long time, that you desired me. Tell me. Did you imagine me, coming to you, at night?

\- Yes”, she murmured, her lips barely moving.

“Then tell me!” he ordered, letting go of her neck.

He circled her, eying her with his burning gaze like a predator contemplating his prey.

Rey’s eyelids were half-closed and her cheeks took a dark shade of pink when, in a hushed voice, she started her confession:

“When I was on Ach-to, after a long day of training, I would return to my hut, alone, in the dark. I often had trouble to sleep, and while I laid down, awaiting some respite, I would imagine you, coming for me”. 

She stopped talking, for an instant, turning her head slightly to look at Kylo Ren out of the corner of her eye, her chest rising and falling while her feelings fluctuated from embarrassment to excitement.

His eyes were ferocious, his desire to possess her so strong he struggled not to pounce on her. He clenched his fists so hard his arms started trembling.

“Go on!” he demanded.

Rey breathed deeply, then resumed:

“I imagined you bursting into my hut, covering me in your shadow. You would say to me: I finally found you, I have searched for you for so long. And I would scream, trying to get away from you. But you caught me against your chest. I would fight to get free until I felt you touching my lips”.

Rey heard her lover’s loud gasp and she smirked in satisfaction before reprising her tell:

“You would remove your mask and we would kiss, your lips softly sliding against mine, your wicked tongue inside my mouth. I’d whimper and shake until I give in to the pleasure you made feel”.

Kylo Ren descended upon her, his lips latching on the crook of her neck, sucking her pulse point until she moaned.

“Don’t stop!” he breathed against her wet skin.

“I...I let you push me against... the floor. Ah!”

Rey screamed at the sound of fabric being torn, exposing her shoulders. Kylo Ren pulled more violently and tore the beige embroidered tunic she was wearing completely. It fell on the floor behind her and she was left in her thin diaphanous breast band. His hands started roaming over the expense of her toned stomach. The slight tremor of her skin under his touch emboldened him and he palmed her breasts.

Oh! How nice it felt! His touch made her body transform into a realm of sensations, as if all her nerves came back to life after a long dormancy. She felt his hands awakening and taming her flesh until it escaped her control and became totally his. He bewitched her like the dark sorcerer he was. 

“What did I do to you?” he inquired while she turned her head and rubbed her forehead against his cheek.

“Oh, Kylo...You...You would force me to keep my hands over my head, and cover my skin with kisses. I would surrender to your lips…

\- Surrender”, Kylo Ren chanted in her ear, hunger altering his voice into a seductive hiss.

“Yes! I would let you touch me. Ah!” She panted and whimpered almost in despair.

Rey keened when she was freed from her breast band. Kylo Ren had removed his gloves and there were no longer any barriers between their skins when he cupped her breasts again. He pulled and tormented her sensitive mounds and it felt as cruel as voluptuous to her. The little jolts of pain where just enough to invoke waves after waves of sensual delight.  

Kylo Ren smacked his lips, delighting in the feeling of her soft flesh and her nubs growing harder and grazing his palms.

“Your hands, I would feel them everywhere, fondling, tempting. You made feel...debauched...lost. I wanted you, Kylo.

\- Yes.  
\- I wanted you and I made you love me, in my head. I would let you do to me what I didn’t want to admit I desired.  
\- What is it? Tell me.  
\- I wanted you to possess me, completely. It felt so wrong, and yet I wanted it more than anything”.

Kylo Ren growled fiercely. He never felt this aroused before, even when Rey first came to him, even after weeks of carnal encounters. He still hungered for her, from the bottom of his soul.

He squeezed her tits against each other unforgivingly then pinched her nipples and rolled them between his fingers in a deliberate motion making her scream. She wanted to escape his hold, but her effort was half-hearted and he forced her back again against him. She felt revolted by the way she surrendered to the pleasure he was making her feel, at the way he so expertly played her body. 

“And you kept it secret from me”, he commented in a reproachful voice. “You fought me, all that time, while you were fantasizing about us”.

Rey couldn’t answer, too busy moaning and swaying her hips in response to his attentions. She brought her arms behind her to reach for his neck, her body arching so tautly, she had to rise on her knees.

“Now I have you! I finally found you. I have searched for you for so long”.

She gasped hearing the words she often dreamt he would say. Her eyes shone with want and she felt her mouth going dry with delectable anticipation.

“What a pity you refused to become my apprentice, Rey. 

\- Is it too late?” Her teasing lacked confidence as her words were interrupted by little puffs of air.  
\- Would you like me to teach you all I know?”

She knew he didn’t mean fighting or how to control her Force abilities. He was talking about another type of apprenticeship. The corners of her mouth turned up into a naughty grin and she nodded, slowly, feigning a calm and control she no longer possessed.

“My love”, he whispered languorously in her ear before pushing her carefully forward so she would lean on her forearms. 

Rey was on the brink of panicking, but she still complied. She dreaded complete surrender, a loss of control. As much as the idea lured her, to be possessed by her lover, she feared to get lost completely. In those moment where they shared their minds, she sometimes couldn’t tell who she was anymore, but, somehow, as scary as it seemed, it always felt perfect. It felt right.

Kylo Ren dugged his fingers into her hips and lifted her backside up then slipped his fingers inside her breeches. Her breath caught on her chest when he tugged at them and brought them down her thighs. He lifted her legs one after another, carefully ridding her of the offending garment. Her underwear followed through and she found herself completely bare and totally at his mercy.

He patted her small and rounded behind before placing a tender kiss on her cheek. 

Rey shivered and turned her face to look at him. She seemed shocked, pleading. 

“No. Look straight ahead”, he instructed in a tone that allowed no complain.

She bit her lips and pondered her options, opting at last for obeying, aware that his orders only aimed at increasing her pleasure. She trusted him, somehow, even when he was in such a state of excitement. 

The feel of his mouth against her pussy was a greater reward than she had expected for her obedience. He kissed her, down there, as if he were kissing her mouth, with such abandon that she felt her legs trembling and nearly giving up under her weight. 

Her lover darted his sinfully skilled tongue and parted her lower lips, searching for her clit. At the first touch of her bundle of nerves, she shouted his name and rocked her hips violently against his face, a jolt of electricity hitting her like a lightning bolt. 

“Don’t move”, she heard him say softly as he put his hand firmly on her back.

She waited eagerly, perfectly still, his authoritative tone provoking the most exquisite sensation inside her belly, until she felt his lips against her again. She bit on her lower lip so sharply she nearly drew blood.

“Oh yes, Master”, she mewled, knowing that he loved it when she called him like that. 

She wanted to reward him, for the sensations he was making her feel. His lips grazed her sensitive skin, his tongue followed the contours of her anatomy and it was as if he was bringing  her to life, as if he was drawing the lines of her body and creating her out of the void. 

His touch went from deliberate to determined. Kylo Ren tasted her, teasing her nub, sucking on it then quickly abandoning it to kiss her folds and drink on her dampness. He was driving her mad, expertly, and she couldn’t help the pitiful whines that escaped her throat.

“You like it when I eat you out!” he remarked smugly when all she needed was for him to bring her to release.

“Yes”, she shouted, her impatience making her snappy.

His laughter was so loud and so unhinged it made her heart pound violently in her chest. That part of madness he always tried to conceal, he only allowed it to show up when he was with her, when they were intimate.

However, he wasn’t cruel and took no pleasure in denying her. He pushed his tongue inside her cunt, knocking all air out of her lungs, and started moving in and out like he would with his cock. They moaned in unison, their nerves crackling with a sensation of pleasure beyond belief.  

Rey looked up the sky through the ceiling, her eyelids heavy with voluptuous languor. There was something about having that mouth moving against her most private flesh, the wrongness of it, that made it feel like a dream. She felt like drugged, unable to control her own emotions and reactions. She couldn’t stop him, even if she wanted to, and she let him fill her with his tongue, lick and explore her insides. She felt wanton, corrupted, his.

She sensed her release approaching fast and when she clenched her inner muscles around Kylo Ren’s tongue, she heard his satisfied laughter, though muffled by her skin. She chased that horizon where her mind and body met until she fell over, in an abyss of bliss. 

Her voice echoed in her own ears. Her thighs quivered and her muscles pulsated at the rhythm of her orgasm, and still he wouldn’t let go of her, still hungry for her like a starving beast.

She moaned painfully and only then did he stop, cleaning his face of her sleekness on his sleeve and it made him look impetuous and childlike. As Rey laid on her side, her head resting on her arm and her eyes gazing upon him lazily, he cupped himself and let go of an angry grunt, his trapped erect member clearly causing him frustration and pain.

“I want to be inside you. I always want to be inside you”, he confessed while tightening his grip around his crotch.

Rey fluttered her lashes languidly, then got on her hands and knees and crawled ever so slowly towards him. She swayed her hips in a sensual ondulation as she stared at him with an air of absolute determination. It was her turn, now, to play. 

She lifted the hem of his top, letting her palms enjoy the feeling of his muscular chest, then brought the cloth over his head and threw it over her shoulder. She reached for his trousers and fumbled with his fly until his engorged member sprang free. 

Kylo Ren pouted and shut his eyes in an attempt to control himself when Rey caressed his shaft delicately with two of her fingers. 

“Tell me, Master. Why did you want me to be your apprentice?” she inquired.

She sounded assertive and powerful and Kylo Ren’s member twitched at the promises that it implied:

“I saw your potential. I wanted you to join me”, he breathed.

“Is that all?”

Her fingers went up and down his shaft, but her touch remained feather-like and it soon became like a torture.

“I wanted to keep you, beside me. I thought we could become so powerful together.

\- And it never crossed your mind, that you wanted more?”

Kylo Ren opened his eyes and Rey wet her lips with a tempting smak. He circled her waist and brought her against him, crashing her hard nipples against his chest and getting his erect cock trapped between them.

“You want me to tell you?” he asked her, panting heavily.

She nodded and suddenly seemed more innocent than her assumed role of dominant ought to admit.

“I wanted you, before I even met you. Yet I denied it, because I thought you would never want me too”.

Rey furrowed her eyebrows together and she said his name: “Kylo…”, half reproachful, half moved.

She crashed her lips against his and they kissed, ravenously, subjugated by one another. She sucked his tongue and invited it inside her mouth, pushing it teasingly from time to time, gazing at him with a smile in her eyes.

A delicious delirium took hold of their minds again and they became slaves to sensations. Kylo Ren looked in wonder as his beloved got on her feet and turned around to stoop again and sit in his lap. He felt the delicafe swell of her behind moving with an increasing rhythm against his stomach. 

She looked down between her legs and grabbed his swollen member, as if it belonged to her. After a few failed attempts that made her whine in frustration, she aligned his flattened head with her entrance, then she sunk sheathing him in a swift movement and eliciting an earnest cry of pleasure from him.

“Oh yes!” he breathed hotly in her ear and kissed her temple before he proceeded thrusting slowly  inside of her.

He managed to control himself enough to focus on pleasing her before satisfying his own insisting needs. He altered between slow rolling movements and hard thrusts, marvelling in that high pitch that Rey’s voice took when she was inebriated with pleasure.

She twisted her neck and brought the corner of her mouth against his, their tongues meeting in a lascivious dance. 

Kylo Ren lowered his hands to the front of Rey’s thighs and with a swift movement, he tipped her over, forcing her yet again to lean on her hands.

The change of angle made them both scream and when she arched her back, the sensation was so pleasurable, he thought he would burst right then. He went to tease her clit and she clenched her pussy around him, over and over, taking obvious pleasure in bringing him to the edge.

“Yes, my love! You are such a good apprentice! You have always been a fast learner!”

He wanted to sound confident and calm, but his words only came out as frenzied.

Oh, she felt so good, her body welcoming him like this! Her insides felt soft, warm, so inviting, it nearly broke his heart every time he entered her. 

He feared she might think him too sensitive or strange if he told her, but in addition to the pure carnal sensation, he always felt gratitude when they joined, when she would let him open her and stretch her and thrust inside her and fill her with his secretions. And she would scream and sweat and bend her body like he liked so much and move her little hips to take him deeper and fill him with such gratification he truly believed he was the luckiest creature in the galaxy to be the one to make love to her. 

He placed a hand over her arched back and the other grabbed her hip to pound even deeper and harder inside her. The tempo of his thrusts was lost to a chaotic rhythm and when he felt her insides trapping his member into a vice like grip, he exploded into her, sighing deeply in relief. He continued circling her hardened nub, however, not considering their lovemaking finished until he brought her to complition. It only took a few seconds for her to scream and arch her back exotically in release. 

Rey nearly collapsed when she came down from her orgasm, but Kylo Ren carefully gathered her into a tight hug. He kissed her hair and her cheek and she laughed joyfully, filling his chest with a warm sensation that had been alien to him until she came into his life.

They got on their sides, facing each other, their hands gathering the heat still radiating off each other’s skin. Rey touched Kylo Ren’s lips and he kissed her fingertips.

“So, what was the lesson, Master?” she asked, laughter tinting her voice. 

“The lesson is that you have to trust me, my apprentice”, he answered, his tone just as playful. 

“I already trust you, Kylo. You must know that”. 

At the way she said it, he knew she spoke true. They gazed deep into each other’s eyes and Kylo Ren’s lips trembled before he could finally say: 

“I am sorry, Rey. I shouldn’t have told you about my desire to have a child with you like I did. 

\- Kylo…  
\- I really love you Rey. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me”.

He snorted, as if he couldn’t believe he was uttering such words. 

She didn’t know what to say and, instead, she shut her eyes and closed the distance between them to put her mouth against his and kiss him, slowly, writing her devotion against his lips.

“What if we ran away?” she asked in a tiny voice, visibly uncertain of his reaction.

“Hum?

\- We could go and leave all this behind. We would be free, together”.

He smiled tenderly and she knew he didn’t take her words seriously:

“You would still want me, even if I had nothing?” he challenged her and she replied without hesitating:

“Yes. Yes!

\- But you wouldn’t respect me , if I turned my back on my own responsibilities.  
\- No! I would still respect you! I would still want you!”

She sounded so desperate it tugged at his heartstrings. He cupped her cheek to soothe her agitation. 

“We can build a better place for us, here, Rey. I will give you everything. I will let you do whatever you want! You will be happy here. I promise you”.

Rey fell silent yet didn’t seem satisfied. She took shelter against him, her head nested under his chin and searched for a tranquility she failed to reach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who worry about all the fighting that Rey and Kylo Ren have been having lately, I promise you, that is not how I intend to go with the final conflict. I just want to show how difficult it has become for them both to reconcile their relationship and their beliefs. They both dread to make choices, but sooner or later, they will have to. 
> 
> Also, maybe you know about the concept of "Self-fulfilling prophecy"? Kylo Ren keeps obsessing about the possibility that Rey may leave him one day and he does everything to push her to do it. Rey is strong though and is determined to face his challenges. 
> 
> Very soon, the true perpetrator of the bomb attack on Kylo Ren will be revealed! Oh stars!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren offers an unexpected and meaningful gift to Rey.   
> New visitors arrive at the palace.

The three handmaidens hurried towards the open window to watch their mistress as she appeared on the stage. A crowd of hundreds had gathered in the palace’s courtyard to witness the emperor’s address, but the servants knew that the actual reason everyone was here was to see Rey, their new Queen.

Lyn who was a bit shorter than her two friends, couldn’t properly see, standing behind them.

“Let me see! Let me see!” she demanded, jumping in excitement.

Sana and Tania let her slip between them. She stood before Sana, who was the tallest of the three, and the green-skinned Twi’lek placed her chin over Lyn’s head, her arms wrapped around her protectively.

The three young women’s hearts overflowed with pride as they watched their mistress taking a few careful steps towards the crowd, arm in arm with the emperor.

Standing this far, they couldn’t see how nervous she was. To them, she looked like an ethereal being gracing the people of Naboo with her appearance, her hair and dress floating in the wind. When she reached the front of the stage, the crowd burst into applause. Their cheering was so loud, so earnest. They loved her because they still recalled a time when their queens, dedicated and pure-of-heart women like she, ruled Naboo and fought for democracy and justice. They loved her because they were convinced she was the only one who could keep their ruler from turning into a tyrant. 

The handmaidens’ attentions were completely focused on their mistress when Lyn noticed what the emperor was doing.

“Look!” she told Sana and Tania, pointing at him in alarm. 

The three servants watched in awe as Kylo Ren removed his helmet and revealed his face to the crowd. The general clamor slowly died out and soon a silence fell heavy like a cloak over the audience. 

Rey turned around to see the unmasked emperor and she seemed to freeze when she realized what he had done. He took a few steps towards her and, in a solemn gesture, he offered her his mask. She looked down at the object, her confusion matching the crowd’s.

___________________________________

Earlier, this morning, the three handmaidens took the greatest care to prepare Rey for the event. It was the first time she would appear to the people of Naboo as the emperor’s companion and no longer as his prisoner. She was clearly a bit nervous, so they encouraged her to take a bath. They poured an extra amount of oils and dried flowers and it actually helped her relax. They led her to the queen’s changing room, where she seldom went and made her sit at the vanity where the late rulers had to remain still for hours while they were getting groomed into their sophisticated attires.

Sana and Tania tried to convince her to try on some of the extravagant Naboo-esque adornments they produced from the wardrobes, but Rey went instead for the simple and delicate crystal flowers that Lyn suggested. The youngest servant placed them in Rey’s woven braided hair and they made her mistress look like a mythical spirit, magnificent and pure.

The dress, however, was selected by Tania. It was a long orange and yellow taffeta front closing gown with long sleeves and a wide neck. It trailed on the ground when Rey walked around. 

“Isn’t a bit much?” she inquired, a bit hesitant.

“That’s why you need these shoes, My Lady”, declared Sana, exuberant as always.

Rey’s eyes widened in horror as she took in the high-heeled slippers the handmaiden was handing her.

“You will need them, especially if you will be standing next to our giant of an emperor”.

At these words, Tania hit Sana in the stomach with her elbow.

“What?” the Twi’lek complained and it made Rey laugh heartedly.

She sat on the chair again and tried to put the shoes on:

“I think I will need the Force to walk in these heels!” she joked.

After a rough start, Rey managed to adjust to her new shoes. She even looked elegant as she paced slowly around the room. They definitely made her look taller and the way she straightened her spine to keep her balance gave her a distinctive graceful air. 

As Tania put a bit of makeup on Rey’s face, just enough to enhance her natural beauty, they heard the emperor bursting into the Queen’s chambers. He came in the room in a hurry and didn’t wait for the three servants to leave before catching Rey between his arms, lifting her off the ground and twirling her around with an earnest laughter that sounded somehow frightful through his voice modulator.

He didn’t seem to notice the handmaiden’s presence nor the stunned looks they shared. He produced a jewelry box while they left discreetly to give the two lovers some privacy. 

“Kylo!” Rey chided him when she saw that he had brought her another gift. 

“Please! I want you to have it!” 

She opened the lid and discovered the new necklace he had brought her. It was finely made, barely thicker than a hair, but it was very long and was set with some exquisite little blue and white precious stones no bigger than a grain of stand. Still, they gathered the light around them and twinkled like stars.

Kylo Ren removed his gloves while Rey’s eyes remained fixated on the superb jewelry. He stood behind her and circled his arms around her to retrieve the necklace from the box and placed it around her bare neck.

His nostrils flared with excitement while he wrapped the chain around her, as though he was tying her up, then, he slowly placed his hands over her shoulders. They both watched their reflection in the vanity’s mirror.

“Do you like it?” he inquired while he nuzzled his nose against her temple.

“I do, but…

\- But?  
\- I know a better gift you could give me”, she replied before spinning around to face him.

Her eyes sparkled with mischief and it nearly took his breath away. 

“Your mask! 

\- What?  
- Remove it!  
\- Rey, you can’t be serious”, he tried to laugh but he sounded nervous and caught off guard.

“Enough with this! Abandon your mask! You don’t need it.

\- I do need it! You don’t understand!  
\- I do understand! You think you can hide from your own doubts and your guilt, but you mustn’t! You have to face them.  
\- Rey! Stop!” he shouted when she sprang forward and tried to remove his mask herself.

“You should listen to those feelings, Kylo. They are telling you something!

\- Rey, it’s not that simple.  
\- Stop ignoring your own emotions! You don’t have to prove anything to anyone anymore.  
 -No, I…”

Rey placed her hands over his chest and looked up at him. Her eyes were at once beseeching and imperative. Her lips twitched with emotion and it reminded him how much power and determination this small creature beheld. 

Kylo Ren put his hand over hers and sighed deeply and it was enough an answer for her to deflate. She looked down, then stepped away from him. Her expression became grave and it twisted his insides.

When he offered her his arm, she took it and gave him a quick smile that showed more disappointment than any work she could have said. It was obvious that she was struggling to hide her displeasure, still, the air between them was filled with bitterness.

When they reached the stage, Kylo Ren stood behind, while the people of Naboo applauded Rey. Her request kept echoing over and over in his head. 

He saw that she was flinching and that she was stepping back, overwhelmed by the ovation that was given to her, and he rushed to support her. He placed his hand delicately on her back to prevent her from fleeing and she snapped her head around to look at him as if she had forgotten he was there with her. 

“Don’t be afraid”, he tried to reassure her, but his voice was distorted and far from soothing. 

He could never say the words he wanted her to hear while he was wearing his helmet. It transformed every intonation into a monotone noise and erased every emotion from his voice. Until now, it was what he had wanted, to hide behind a robotic and emotionless persona, but he felt that it was finally time to move on. 

He hesitated no longer. He reached for the clenches that kept his helmet sealed tightly around his head and removed it in a swift movement. 

He was aware of the audience’s stunned reaction, but he only cared for Rey’s. When she noticed what he had done, her eyes widened in shock, but soon he saw there was triumph, pride in them. He could notice the astonishment, the incontestable satisfaction that slowly brightened her features until she glowed like a celestial body.

The crowd remained silent, completely stunned by the scene they were witnessing. Like a torpor had fallen over them, the people of Naboo watched their emperor’s face for the first time.

When he walked towards Rey, the sound of his steps echoed in the courtyard. He handed her the mask and she frowned slightly, hesitating before taking it into her own hands. She considered it and it was as if the whole audience were holding their breath as they awaited her reaction. 

Rey looked up and the lovers’ gazes met. The spectators who were close enough could see the affection with which they behold each other, the genuine trust that floated around them. A single faint applause broke the silence and it spread like a wave over the water, engulfing the crowd. 

A smile appeared on Kylo Ren’s face and it was as if his people fell under his charm all at once. They applauded and yelled words of approval and when he held Rey’s trembling hands, they became euphoric. They felt they were witnessing the beginning of a new era and it filled them with hope for the future. 

Rey too sensed the importance of the event. She was surprised when she felt a single tear falling over her cheek. She had never cried of joy before. 

___________________________________

Rey and Kylo Ren run hand in hand through the palace towards her chambers. In their hurry, they crossed path with servants and officers who had to quickly move away to avoid being knocked over by the two lovers. 

When they reached the bedroom, they still could hear the crowd celebrating outside. Kylo Ren didn’t even care that he never managed to give his speech. He didn’t care that it was still bright day outside, that his officers were awaiting him, probably to question him about his actions. He only cared for her. 

He kissed her, passionately, insistently and she reciprocated with as much eagerness. 

“I love you!” he said to her, panting, their foreheads against one another. 

“I love you!” she replied and he suddenly felt the world spinning around him. 

His mind reeled at the sound of these three simple words. He never thought, although he hoped, she would say them one day. 

He gasped and his emotions carved a deep frown over his face, as if he was desperate, as if it pained him, but it was all but that. He was happy, so very much. 

They kissed and moaned as they desperately tried to undress each other as quickly as they could. They were so avid, they miraculously managed to reach the bed and lay over it. 

Kylo Ren brought Rey’s back against his chest while they both laid on the sides. She reached behind with her arm to touch his nape and he sucked her earlobe between his lips ravenously. She still had the necklace and the crystal flowers in her hair and she shone like a jewel, her skin the color of sand. 

“My light! My precious light!” he whispered in her ear and she keened and curved her back in reaction. 

“I love you so much”, she replied, twisting her neck to look at him. 

It made his pulse quicken and he knew he would never get enough from hearing her say it. 

His hands roamed over her hips. His fingers seemed rough and unrefined against her delicate skin, but she seemed to blossom under his touch. She encouraged his caresses by humming and twitching in approval. 

“I will give anything you want”, he declared, his lips against the crook of her neck. 

“Anything?” she asked teasingly. 

“Anything you desire. 

\- I desire you. What are we supposed to do when we are both so eager to please one another?”

Rey was obviously taking pleasure in teasing her lover with her incongruous remarks. She was, somehow, provoking him and he diligently got into the game. 

“I know what you mean”, he said, his voice heavy with a dark longing. 

He placed his hands over her breasts and squeezed them against each other, almost punishingly. Rey mewled and brought her backside against his pelvis, rubbing her soft skin against his erected shaft. 

“How I love the feel of your soft skin!” he declared as he knitted her soft mounts. 

He so cherished the feeling of her nipples coming to attention against his palms. He knew that her body was a precious treasure to which she only offered the key to him. 

Kylo Ren brought his hand down to her calve and, with a swift move, he lifted her leg up over his hip. Rey gasped, then her breath caught in her chest when she felt him push his sex inside her heaven. Her scream of pleasure resounded in the room, unabashed, and it delighted her lover as much as the feeling of warmth that climbed from his member to his chest until it reached his head and made him tumble into delirium. 

He tried to follow a steady rhythm as he thrust inside her, fearing that this blissful moment would be too short. 

Their body joined, they exchanged thoughts through their bound. Rey kept twisting her spine to kiss Kylo Ren and rub her nose against his. He placed his hand over her belly to push her down and get further deep inside her, making her scream in earnest, her high-pitched voice covering the crowd noises outside. 

‘Do you like, My Queen, when I take you like this? 

\- Hum! Though… Ah!... I like it better when I can see your eyes!”

She came before him, shouting his name, arching her back in an exotic way, her arms wrapped around his neck and it didn’t take him long before he followed through. His pleasure burst like bubbles of oxygen in his brain. Instead of the painful post-coitus sensation of emptiness he usually experienced, he was feeling elevated, perfectly content as he brought Rey’s warm body back against him. He peppered her face with little kisses and she enchanted him with her giggles. 

___________________________________

A few days later, visitors arrived at the palace. Rey was delighted to see Raira, Count Chuchi’s daughter, whom she met a few months ago. The little girl whom she had to save after she climbed a tall tree in the garden, had distinctly grown up. She was taller and acted with much more poise which made Rey wonder if she really was the same rascal she had known. Perhaps her species, the Pantorans, grew more rapidly than humans. They obviously lived longer as Raira was accompanied by her grandmother, Riyo Chuchi, who was said to have witnessed the Clone War and the subsequent rise and fall of Galactic Empire.

Rey felt humble as she was introduced to the old Pantorian. The blue-skinned woman was small and haunched, but her eyes burned with an energy and a wisdom that demanded respect. She walked around with a stick, still, she managed to move swiftly and had no trouble keeping up with the pace of her granddaughter. 

“She knew my grandfather, back when he was a Jedi. She was a senator when my grandmother sat at the Galactic Senate”, Kylo Ren told Rey as they prepared earlier for the arrival of their guests.

Rey noticed that he was nervous, but assumed it was because she had known his revered ancestors when he himself never had the chance to meet them. She placed her hand over his forearm and smiled encouragingly at him. It seemed to please him as he squeezed her arm tenderly before stepping forward to welcome the former chancellor of Pantora and her grandchild.  

A feast was organized in honor of the guests and Rey had the chance to sit next to Riyo Chuchi. She, indeed, soon discovered that the old lady was very easy-going and chatty. 

“I used to be so shy. I barely had a voice”, she revealed, commenting on her talkativeness. “But, I had to learn to speak up for my people”. 

Rey felt an instant liking for the old politician. Despite her age, verging on a century, she was full of life and she seemed to be refreshingly optimistic. Raira, her granddaughter, stayed close to Rey and even dared to sit in her lap, snuggling her head against her armpit while the two women discussed all sorts of subjects. Despite the loud noises of music and chatter, the little girl fell asleep and eventually Rey suggested they carry her back to her room. 

Riyo Chuchi led the way while two guards followed them without anyone asking them to. Rey frowned in concern. It had been so long since she had been allowed to move around the palace without escort and wondered why, tonight, they were being followed.

“You knew Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker, I’ve heard”, she said, to break the heavy silence, but mostly because she was truly curious. 

“Indeed. They were my friends. I was a close friend to Ahsoka Tano, too. She was Anakin’s padawan when I met her”. 

Rey had heard of Ahsoka because she was said to have taken part in The Rebellion against the empire, but she knew so little about her. 

“In fact, I must say they were more than friends to me”, resumed the old Pantoran. “They greatly influenced me, and I hope I carry their legacy until now”. 

These words made Rey smile sympathetically as she noticed an admirable determination in Riyo’s tone. She sounded truly earnest as she expressed her gratitude and her admiration for her late friends. Not once, however, she seemed to associate Anakin Skywalker with Darth Vader, as though the later had never existed, as though he died at the same time as his wife did. 

When they reached the guests’ quarters, Rey helped the lady tuck Raira into bed, ignoring the protests of the servants. She bid Riyo Chuchi goodbye, but the old woman didn’t allow her to leave before promising to come and visit her again the next day. Rey accepted, eagerly, and went back to the ongoing celebration.   

___________________________________

“You like her”, commented Kylo Ren, as he and Rey laid in bed together. 

“I do. She reminds of Maz Kanata”. 

Kylo Ren laughed at the mention of the old alien’s name. 

“What?”, asked Rey, a bit surprised by his reaction. 

“No. It’s just… I nearly forgot about Maz. I wonder if she is still alive somewhere. 

\- She must be!  
\- She was a bit eccentric. She talked in riddles.  
\- Yes, but she was nice, too.  
\- Indeed”.

It felt so strange for them to talk about a common acquaintance who wasn’t a member of the First Order or the Resistance. It made them feel as if they were...normal, their life as utterly ordinary as anyone. 

“I have an idea: What if you spent a few days at my grandmother’s villa in the Lake County with Riyo Chuchi and her granddaughter?

\- Kylo?” asked Rey, spontaneously suspicious.

“It’s nearly winter and you never had the chance to visit Varykino until now. I wish I could accompany you, but there are some matters I have to attend to. 

\- What kind of matters?  
\- None you should concern yourself with”.

Rey stiffened a bit when he avoided answering, but she felt his hold tightened around her and he placed a kiss against her eyelid. 

“Trust me, my love. I only want your happiness”, he said, softly, and his words melted her resolve. 

“Alright”, she relinquished, shyly. 

“You will love it there! Varykino is where my grandparents got married. 

\- Did they?  
\- Yes! It was a secret wedding, but I believe it was a joyous one. Perhaps, one day, we will get married there, too”.

Rey gasped loudly and Kylo Ren felt panic settle over him. 

“Rey! I am sorry, I…

\- No, it’s alright. You… do you mean…  
\- I want to marry you, yes! Yes! I want you. Only you!  
\- Kylo, I…  
\- Don’t you want me too? Don’t you want to be with me?  
\- I do. I really do! But…  
\- But?    
\- I don’t think I am fit to be The Emperor’s wife!  
\- You mean The Empress.  
\- Kylo, you must know, I don’t want to become an empress”.

There was a long silence after she said these words, only filled with the sound of their breathing. 

“I know”, Kylo Ren confessed, his tone one of absolute impassivity. 

She couldn’t fathom the emotions that her rejection invoked in him and, as if she had to ask for forgiveness, she wrapped her arms around him and searched for his lips. Only when he kissed her back she was able to breathe again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter is a bit shorter than usual. I actually wrote a huge 'megasaurus' of a chapter and I had to split in three (I am not joking). 
> 
> Some of you might recognize Riyo Chucho from The Clone Wars animated series. I really like her and I like to imagine that a few characters have survived this long, living through all the events that took place during the time period covered by the Star Wars movies. 
> 
> Besides, I wanted to ask you if you would be interested to read a story set in la Belle Epoque in Paris around a love triangle between Rey, Kylo Ren and Finn. I think there are very few fics about this particular love triangle and I want to be sure there are enough readers interested before starting one, because I have to do some research and I am a bit lazy and I won't do it if there is no potential audience. 
> 
> Please, feel free to comment or send me a message [here](https://www.tumblr.com/message/lastmouseleft). Your comments lift my spirits even in the gloomy days of the Canadian November.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Separation proves harder than expected for Rey and Kylo Ren.

The morning Rey left for Varykino, she didn’t protest, she didn’t cry, she didn’t ask Kylo Ren why he was sending her away and her silence resounded louder than a lament. 

He waited for her at the hangar until she finally appeared. He watched her coming towards him in a long dark velvet coat that fit the shape of her slender form. She walked with such grace and poise that he could barely recognize the young scavenger he had met for the first time more than a decade ago.   

There was a delicate smile on her lips when she stood before him and he couldn’t resist the impulse to hold her against him. She gasped when Kylo Ren took her in his arms. He held her close, as close as possible, so close he could feel the slightest tremor of her skin. He smelled the delicate perfume of her hair. It was as sweet as a flower and as fresh as dew. He kissed her mouth and it tasted divine, like an elixir on his tongue. He feared his aching heart might stop when she would be gone.

She tugged at his elbow so he would give her some space to breathe and laughed that little laugh that made his pained heart sing:

“Kylo!” she chided him, though playfully. “People are watching us”.

Indeed, when he finally managed to look away from her lovely face, he saw the guards and soldiers standing around them awkwardly. They were barely used to see him unmasked and they were certainly not prepared to watch him act so affectionately towards someone.  

Kylo Ren quirked his eyebrow, then, ignoring them completely, he brought his attention back to Rey:

“I will miss you! I already miss you!

\- It was your idea!” she reminded him, a hint of reproach coloring her otherwise tender voice.

She knew…

Of course, she knew! He was sending her away so she wouldn’t be present when Senator Sooro underwent his trial. It was to be held very soon and Kylo Ren was certain that the news had reached her ears one way or another, probably through her handmaidens who provided her with all rumors and news running through the palace and beyond.  

He was pulled out of his musing when he felt her soft hand against his face. She looked up at his saddened eyes and fondly stroked his temple with her thumb:

“We will soon be reunited, My Love”, she whispered, only for him to hear, and he sighed in delight at the sound of the endearment she used to address him.

He gazed at her with such want, it made her blush, then she slowly pulled away. He grabbed her hand while she stepped back and their palms then fingers brushed against each other until they had to let go. 

Kylo Ren watched Rey as she joined the Pantorans which arrival he hadn’t even notice. She greeted Riyo Chuchi and her granddaughter Raira with apparent affection and the young emperor suddenly experienced a feeling of scorching possessiveness. The idea of sharing her affection burned at him like a blaster bolt. 

Little Raira’s earnest smile when Rey tenderly patted her head settled any resentment in him, and instead, he marveled at their complicity. He could not resist thinking that Rey would make a good mother one day.

He went to join them and when he smiled awkwardly at the little blue girl, she ran to hide behind Rey’s skirts, clearly intimidated by his dark and imposing stature. Her coyness reminded him of the kid he used to be. 

He bid the guests a good trip and watched with a heavy heart as Rey boarded the ship that would take her away from him. She spared one last look towards him through the window before the shuttle took off and he knew then that the separation affected her as much as it did him.

_____________________________

 

When they reached the lake retreat, the guests were greeted by the servants who had come earlier to prepare for their arrival. One of them suggested to give Rey and the Pantorans a quick tour and they gladly acquiesced. 

As they walked around the house, Rey remained silent, lost in thought, lightly touching the walls with the tip of her fingers as though she wanted to appease the spirits the guests were probably disturbing. It felt to Rey that the place wanted to say something to her, perhaps to share the tale of the two star-crossed lovers that once joined their destinies here. 

The guests reached the living area, a brightly lighted room with a double glass door overlooking a large veranda. Two servants were waiting for them to serve them some refreshments, but Rey and little Raira couldn’t resist the urge to go outside first. 

The view was simply tremendous. When they reached the edge, Rey lifted the blue-skinned girl between her arms to allow her to properly see the landscape and they both gazed in awe at the hills and the vast lake that surrounded the villa. 

The cold season had already begun in Naboo, still, Rey felt a distinct warmth coil inside her chest. She would never get used to the utter beauty of this planet, its luxurious greenery, its breathtaking waterfalls, the myriad of colors its nature displayed. Wind drew exotic patterns on the surface of the lake and as she watched their endless dance, she felt hypnotized by them. 

“Rey”, she thought she heard his voice calling her, a phantom caress against her mind that made her sigh deeply. 

She agreed to come here because she wanted to prove something to herself: That she was able to get away from him, that she would be able to leave him when Finn would come to get her, as he had promised. She was no longer sure she wanted to know the answer. 

She grew tense and Raira looked up at her with a curious expression.

“Rey”, she called her timidly and the young woman was pulled out of her thoughts with a start. 

She smiled down at the little girl to reassure her, then she put her down on her feet and grabbed her little hand to lead her back inside.

_____________________________

Io Ren watched as the shuttle landed in the hangar. A single passenger came out of it, a short yet sinewy man in a mask and dark armor who made a beeline for her. 

“Where are the other knights?” he asked right away without any kind of greeting. 

He had a very deep voice and he spoke in a tone that revealed his volatile nature, a striking contrast to Io Ren’s controlled and distinctly aristocratic manners.   

“Not here yet, I’m afraid. They have been retained!” she said calmly.

“What are we supposed to do then? We can’t do it without them!

\- We’ll have to wait.

\- Wait? We have waited enough!

\- Patience, Fouros! It is only a matter of time, now”.

They both walked towards the war rooms where Kylo Ren and his advisors discussed their strategies. When he saw the two knights of Ren come in, the emperor’s eyes widened in surprise. With a swift move of his hand, he instantly reduced his advisors to silence: 

“Fouros Ren! I don’t think I have summoned you to Naboo. What are you doing here?

\- My Lord!” the knight replied, accompanying his words with an exaggerated bow. The implied irony didn’t escape anyone. “I haven’t had any news from you or from the other Knights of Ren lately. I was getting worried!”

Kylo Ren’s nostrils flared with obvious irritation. In his anger, he looked like a beast ready to bounce and when he ordered his advisors to leave, they all obeyed without hesitation. 

“I will only ask this once more: Why are you here, Fouros?” The emperor continued as soon as he found himself alone with his knights. He tried to keep an even tone, but his voice trembled with a fury he could barely conceal. 

“I have heard disturbing rumors”, replied Fouros, this time his voice barring no mockery. 

“Rumors?

\- The Resistance! They are preparing another attack against you. I believe they are planning to strike during Sooro’s trial!

\- Where did you get this information?

\- I met an arms dealer on Kuat who specializes in explosives. He told me that he had been approached by new clients from Pantora who were trying to get hold of an impressive amount of ammonia. You know what this means, don’t you?”

Kylo Ren stood up abruptly. He ran his hand over his face to calm himself down, but he was visibly shaken. He had planned to deal with The Resistance in a discreet manner, but things weren’t going the way he wanted. 

“Did you know about that?” he asked and Io Ren knew the question was addressed to her. 

She tilted her head slightly, then calmly replied: 

“Yes.

\- And you didn’t tell me”, Kylo Ren accused her, standing with his back towards her.

“I had to be certain.

\- Certain?

\- I had to be careful. We don’t know if there aren’t accomplices, here in the palace.

\- What else are you hiding for me?” he shouted, suddenly turning around to face her.

She waited until the echo of his voice faded before she replied: 

“Nothing, My Lord”.

He kept his eyes fixed on her, panting in an anger he struggled to suppress. He walked towards the exit and as he passed Io and Fouros by, he only added: 

“You will not leave this planet without my permission”. 

_______________________________________

Rey’s handmaidens stayed at the Queen’s apartments while their mistress was away. They took the opportunity to clean and prepare the rooms for the cold season, replacing the rugs and curtains with thicker and warmer ones. 

When the emperor burst in, Sana and Lyn were busy changing the bed sheets. They were definitely unprepared for his unexpected appearance. They both abandoned in alarm the linens they were carrying and offered him a shy courtesy. Sana gathered enough courage to address him: 

“How can we serve you, My Lord?” 

He ignored them completely. Sana and Lyn watched him perplexed as he looked around the rooms, then they stiffened when they saw him coming back towards them. 

“Where is the droid?

\- The droid?” Lyn asked in surprise.

“Yes, the astromech. BB-8. Where is it?

\- I will go fetch him for you”, told him Sana.

Lyn wanted to protest, but the emperor intimidated her. She could barely breathe when she was left alone with him until her friend reappeared with BB-8 following behind her. 

“You will be coming with me”, Kylo Ren said to the robot who beeped in surprise. 

Lyn, in her panic, took a step towards the emperor and BB-8 as they prepared to leave and Sana had to grab her hand to prevent her from following them. She tightened her grip to express her support and her friend tilted her head in defeat as they watched their mechanic friend disappear behind the sliding door. 

As soon as he came into his reading room, Kylo Ren let himself fall over his chair with a sight. He abandoned his intimidating expression for one of utter exhaustion. 

The small droid considered him with curiosity. He kept rocking himself, awaiting any kind of explanation to why the emperor needed his presence. 

“Droid! Show her to me”, came his instruction eventually. “Show me Rey”. 

BB-8 had no means to communicate with Rey and he concluded that Kylo Ren wanted him to project some of the images he had recorded of her. He searched his memory and selected one video he himself cherished most of all, the one of their first meeting. 

“Your antenna is bent”, said the holographic image of the scavenger that suddenly appeared before the emperor’s eyes. 

He took a sharp intake of breath when he heard her voice. He missed her so. He missed her warmth, her sincerity. He felt she was the only person he truly trusted, even though she tried to deceive him, to kill him! She had failed because she couldn’t be that kind of person. She wasn’t manipulative and cruel. She was truthful, passionate. She was light. 

As the recording went on, showing her climbing then descending the sand dunes, a sense of peace slowly settled upon him, a tranquil languor that helped release the tension from his members. Even when she was far away, only she could really bring him comfort. 

_____________________________

Time passed in Varykino like in a dream. Rey had never indulged before in such idleness. She greatly enjoyed Raira and her grandmother Riyo’s company, but, somehow, she felt removed from reality. 

The residence kept whispering to her an indiscernible melody, a song of loss and melancholy, and it affected her. She was often wistful, not her usual lively self, and even though she put a lot of effort to seem affable to the other guests, it was obvious that something was bothering her. 

One evening, after the guests had enjoyed a copious meal, they decided to stay in. They usually took a walk outside, but because of the cold, they instead gathered next to the fireplace in the living room, enjoying some games of cards and friendly chat. 

Rey loved hearing Riyo’s tales. She was an inexhaustible well of stories, as eloquent as witty. She recounted some of her adventures during the Clone Wars and the young woman drank her words until the sun disappeared behind the hills and the room grew darker. 

Little Raira fell asleep with her head on Rey’s lap while she tenderly caressed her silvery hair. The Pantoran matriarch watched them with an approving smile.  

“Rey”, Riyo whispered, suddenly breaking the serenity of the moment. 

Rey could tell that there was concern in the way she pronounced her name. She snapped her head up to meet the Pantoran penetrating eyes. 

“What has been bothering you, my child?

\- Nothing! I am perfectly content being here with you.

\- I can see that something is wrong. Do you miss him? The Emperor?”

Rey’s frowned her brow. She was mostly surprised at the directness of Riyo Chuchi. She sensed, however, that there was no malice behind her question, only genuine concern. 

“I think I...I don’t know…I am confused.

- Tell me, my child.

\- This house. I hear its voice as if it wants to tell me something...

\- So many things came to pass here.

\- I know.

\- You know that Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker married here?

\- Yes.

\- This house witnessed their best moments together. I believe they were happy here.

\- Were they? I wonder, with all that came to happen after that, with Anakin turning to the Dark Side, Padmé dying of a broken heart.

\- They couldn’t know, then. They followed their hearts, no one could blame them for that.

\- But...but...They must have known, that what their love was doomed! That it would only end in tragedy!”

Rey grew so agitated that it made Raira moan loudly in her sleep. The young woman placed her hand delicately over the little girl’s head to soothe her. When she looked up again at Riyo she saw the Pantoran smiling compassionately at her. 

“Rey, are you afraid that the same thing would happen to you?”

For the briefest moment, Rey hesitated to answer. She only knew Riyo Chuchi for a few days and she was discussing matters that could prove compromising. But there was something in the way the old woman looked at her, the way her eyes shone with an unmistakable kindness that made the former Jedi trust her. Besides, she was tired of keeping her feelings concealed. She needed a friend who could listen to her without judgment and she hoped she found one in Riyo. 

“I thought I could control my feelings towards him, that I was strong enough. But when I am with him, I feel...I feel that nothing in the world matters besides him. I feel that I belong only to him, that I could never be able to leave him.

\- You love him.

\- But I don’t know why! How can I love him when he killed so many of my friends? When he is planning to wage war on the galaxy?

\- You blame yourself when no one really decides whom they fall in love with.

\- I could have avoided this. I could have stayed away from him, but instead, I have offered myself to him, thinking that I could deceive him. But I have failed. I failed my friends.

Rey’s eyes burned with unshed tears. She sobbed loudly and squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to let herself cry when she felt the Pantoran’s wrinkly hand against her cheek. 

“Listen to me, Rey. You didn’t fail. No one things you have failed.  Not me, not the galaxy, not your friends from the Resistance.

- You don’t know about that…

\- I know, Rey! I know”.  

Rey was so astonished, it took her a few seconds to properly assimilate what Riyo was telling her. She fluttered her eyelashes in surprise, but she knew by the way the Pantoran looked at her that she heard right. She gasped and her face brightened with uncontainable joy. 

“How?” she asked in a murmur.

“They are on Pantora.

\- Pantora? I thought they were on Ryloth!

\- Ryloth was becoming dangerous. My nephew helped them escape. They are safer now”.

Count Chuchi, Raira’s father, Rey had met him before and he had already revealed himself as sympathetic to The Resistance’s cause, but she had no idea that he and his family would go to such lengths, put themselves in danger, just to help her friends.  

The tears now flowed freely from Rey’s eyes, but they weren’t of sadness. They were tears of relief. 

“Your friends were planning to come and rescue you, but I wanted to see for myself if you really needed them to. Rey, just know this: If you want to stay here, your friends will understand. I will make them understand”. 

Rey didn’t know how to reply. 

She wanted to say that she was prepared to leave and join her friends. She wanted nothing more than to be reunited with Finn. Besides, she knew that if she stayed with Kylo Ren, he would keep trying to convince her to become his empress and give him children. He was stubborn and greedy and would never be satisfied with their situation as it was. He would slowly but surely cover her in his darkness until she could no longer recognize herself. 

She had to leave Kylo Ren. She had to escape if she didn’t want to follow the same path that Padmé Amidala did, but the memory of his voice whispering her name in her ear like a prayer, his lips worshiping her skin, and his eyes...oh, his eyes! They were soulful and mesmerizing. 

She could remember his face. When she looked at him, she could see that deep down he wasn’t the cruel man that everyone assumed him to be. She saw the truth, that he was scarred and confused, but that he had good in him, that he was still Ben Solo. 

If she left him, it would break him. It would break her. She couldn’t bear to cause him such sufferance. She couldn’t bear to leave him. She needed him. 

“Thank you”, she simply replied, her eyes fixed on the darkness outside and Riyo Chuchi could only nod as she sensed her resolve. 

_____________________________

The trial was a farce. A proper one, with actors and rehearsed dialogues that they recited with so little conviction it was grotesque. 

It was a closed trial. Along with the emperor, the witnesses, the judges, the jury and the prosecutors, a few officers and a dozen of senators had been allowed to attend. They all had to go through a thorough search before they could come in, ignoring every principle of diplomatic immunity. Guards were also posted in every corner of the room. 

Kylo Ren gazed upon the crowd nervously. He had been advised to not attend, but he stubbornly insisted he would be there. If he were to believe his knights, he was putting himself in danger, but he refused to cower away from his enemies. He even felt a kind of trepidation at the possibility that they would strike during the trial and thus finally reveal themselves to him.   

He carefully examined each and every person present, trying to detect a reaction, the slightest expression that might reveal a traitor amongst them. For an instant, he considered putting an end to this charade of a trial and just question every single one of them until they confessed, but he had to keep in mind what was really at stake. 

He was no longer the young reckless man he used to be. He wanted to build a legacy, an empire that would last for centuries. He wanted to be remembered as the one who brought peace to the galaxy and not as a tyrant. He...he wanted Rey to look at him with respect and admiration, for her to no longer fear him and to finally stand beside him as his Empress. 

Kylo Ren noticed that Senator Sooro was oddly disorientated. When addressed by the prosecutors, he only offered incomprehensible answers. He looked as if he didn’t know where he was. 

“When you went to fetch the Senator earlier, did he seem normal to you?” the emperor asked General Hux who was sitting close to him. 

Hux quirked his eyebrow as he spared a glance towards the accused. During his years-long experience dealing with war prisoners, he had witnessed far more peculiar behavior. 

“He seemed a bit confused, but it is nothing I haven’t seen before in a man who is about to face trial.

\- Did he talk to someone before you came?

\- Three guards were watching his cell when I got there. I think they would have noticed if someone tried to approach him”.

Despite Hux’s confidence in his surveillance system, Kylo Ren knew that it would be easy for someone to divert the guards' attention if they had the proper skills. 

A couple of hours went by with a succession of testimonies and pleas that all lead to the same conclusion: That Senator Sooro was part of a conspiracy against the emperor, that his accomplices were the crime lords that controlled the Outer Rims and that the empire had every right to retaliate. There were no protests, Even the defendants didn’t question the evidence presented against the accused. They only tried to plead that he was a mere pawn in the conspiracy, that he wasn’t one of the leaders. At this rhythm, the trial wouldn’t take too long to conclude. 

“Senator Sooro is prepared to collaborate and reveal the names of the conspirators”, assured a defendant to the increasingly distracted audience who by now only hoped for a relapse. “He was forced to take part in their schemes, but he has no loyalty towards them. He will provide all the help he can to the empire.

\- It’s a lie!”

The Sullustan suddenly yelled to everyone’s surprise. Kylo Ren who was barely listening at this point stiffened in reaction. Before he could protest, Senator Sooro added: 

“The crime lords have nothing to do with it. It was The Resistance. The Resistance is still alive!” 

The emperor could see that the accused pupils were dilated. There was no doubt that someone was controlling him, but the damage was done. The news that members of The Resistance had survived was no longer a secret. 

He looked at Hux and the general seemed just as astonished as the rest of the crowd. Soon, the room was filled with a commotion that the judges struggled to contain. Only when the emperor hit his armrest with his clenched fist and roared frightfully did the noise dissipate. 

They all watched him, dreading his reaction. He looked back at them, a single thought going through his mind: whoever did this would pay. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear friends, 
> 
> I am sorry for the delay! I didn't expect my studies to take so much of my time. The good news is that I finished my exams (I'm finally free!!!) and that there is a great chance I will be spending the holidays writing because I have so many ideas for new fics. Don't worry though, I know I have to finish my ongoing projects first. 
> 
> Soooo, what did you think of that little indie movie called The Last Jedi? Here is the thing: I have promised myself I would stick with my original plan for this story whatever came to happen in Episode VIII, so there will be elements diverging from canon, but I hope that won't affect your enjoyment. 
> 
> Merry Christmas everyone and happy Hanukkah and Mouled (I am a bit late for these two). I hope you will have a great time during the holidays!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey has to deal with the consequences of Senator Sooro's confession. Her relationship with Kylo Ren is put to a test.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super fast update!  
> This the third part of the super long chapter I wrote a while ago. I realize it is quite angsty! Just in the spirit of the holidays, right?   
> Enjoy!

The bed felt cold. Rey had grown used to the warmth of Kylo Ren’s body next to her, all coiled around her. When she woke up, his absence startled her. She fluttered her eyelashes and when her stupor dissipated, she realized that she was in Varykino.

She sat at the edge of the bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The sun peeked through the curtains, illuminating the room. After days of greyness, the blue sky finally announced a beautiful day. 

Rey figured she had the time to take a short walk before the other guest woke up. She desperately sought some fresh air after days of staying indoors, so she put on a robe and some warm sleepers and made way for the backyard. 

The house was quiet. Everybody was asleep apart from a couple of servants who were attending to their morning chores. They greeted her with earnest smiles. Rey no longer heard the strange whispers that kept haunting her the first few days she was here. Indeed, she came to realize that there were actually mere echoes of her own troubled thoughts. Since her exchange with Riyo Chuchi, she felt more serene, somehow at peace with her own situation. 

The cool morning air greeted her when she got outside and she took a deep breath that filled her lungs. Today, she decided, she would get Raira and Riyo to go with her to explore the surroundings of the villa. She was eager to discover the kind of vegetation and animals that inhabited the wooded hills. 

Rey was interrupted in her musing when she saw a small point appear in the sky and she realized at once that it was a shuttle. As it grew bigger, she realized it was heading for Varykino. 

Quickly, she went back inside and headed straight for the front yard where the ships usually landed. In her way, she met one of the servants. 

“Did we receive any message from the palace, today?” she asked the man, but his perplexed expression was answer enough. 

Rey ran towards the house entrance and arrived just in time to watch the shuttle land. She had a premonition that something wrong had happened and tried her best not to panic. 

The bridge was lowered and for an instant, Rey was blinded by the reflection of the sunlight against General Phasma’s armor. The officer appeared in her full military uniform followed by at least twenty soldiers. 

“General Phasma? What is going on?” Rey asked. 

In her surprise, her voice had fallen to a whisper. 

“Lady Rey”, Phasma greeted her in her robotic voice. “I have been ordered by The Emperor to apprehend Lady Chuchi”. 

For a moment, Rey forgot how to breathe. Time seemed to freeze and the only thing she could hear was the drumming sound her blood made running fast through her veins. 

“No”, she silently mouthed as she watched in horror the stormtroopers pouring out of the ship and into the residence. 

“General Phasma, tell me what happened”. 

The officer straightened her back, visibly pondering the right response: 

“Senator Sooro has confessed. He has been helping the Resistance and so have the Pantorans.

\- That’s impossible!

\- I am sorry, Lady Rey”.

Rey’s eyes widened in horror. She quickly turned on her hills and run towards the guests’ quarters. The soldiers were already busy smashing the door that led to Riyo and Raira’s room when she came screaming like a fury and pushed them away with The Force. They went flying like ragdolls and landed with a loud thud. She picked a staff that belonged to one of them and faced the others with gritted teeth. She looked positively savage, her jaw clenched, her eyes burning with a frightful fire, panting loudly and ready to bounce at anyone who dared to come close to the door. 

Phasma arrived and addressed her with a calm that further infuriated her: 

“Lay Rey, please, step aside. This has nothing to do with you.

\- It has everything to do with me!

\- I don’t want to fight you!”

The general words were heavily threatening. She didn’t like the idea to fight Rey, but she was prepared to do it if she stood in her way. The former Jedi was just as determined to use force to defend the Pantorans. 

The two women considered each other, Phasma slowly deploying her own staff. The soldiers around them could sense the tension between them like an overwhelming tide that prevented them from interfering. 

Rey tried to remain calm, although her members trembled in agitation. She barely noticed the clicking sound behind her until she felt a hand on her arm that startled her. She snapped her head to the side and saw Riyo Chuchi standing next to her. The old Pantoran seemed calm, so calm the former Jedi wondered if she truly understood the situation.

“Rey, please, lower your weapon”, said the matriarch. 

“They are planning to arrest you!

- I am sure that it is some kind of misunderstanding”.

Rey tried to protest by the old woman offered her a smile that convinced her that a fight wasn’t the best strategy. She slowly lowered the staff and so did General Phasma who seemed to grow in height as the tension left her members. 

“Lady Chuchi, I will ask you to follow me, you and your granddaughter”. 

At Phasma’s words, Rey stiffened again and tried to take a step forward, but the stormtroopers reacted swiftly this time and pointed their blaster at her and Riyo. She was prepared to fight them all, but she was afraid to put the Pantorans life in danger. Even if she managed to save them, she didn’t know how they would be able to escape Naboo...She would figure it out! She had to do something.

“Please Rey”, Riyo begged her again, now her wrinkled face betraying her true despondency. “Let the General take us to The Emperor. I am sure that there is some kind of explanation”. 

Of course, they both knew that the Pantoran was indeed guilty of the betrayal she was accused of, that Kylo Ren must have been aware of her involvement with The Resistance. There was little chance she could ever be able to see her homeworld again. 

But little Raira! She had nothing to do with this. Rey refused to hand her over to the General, but Riyo’s pleading eyes kept her in check. She trusted the Pantoran’s wisdom, even when her blood was burning with indignation. 

Rey clenched her eyes shut when she heard the little girl scream in terror. She turned around and saw a soldier coming out of the room, holding Riara while she fought to get free. 

“Mama!” she screamed and it cut through Rey’s heart. 

Riyo seemed suddenly completely distressed. She lifted her hands, but the soldier moved Raira away from her reach. The little girl grew agitated and hit him with her little feet. He grabbed her arms and she yelped desperately.  

“Let me take her! Let me carry her, at least until we get to the palace!” Rey demanded, gazing directly at Phasma, her eyes beseeching. 

The general studied her request, then replied: 

“Are you prepared to collaborate?” 

She could have chosen another word. Any other word that didn’t ring so painfully inside Rey’s ears, but she had no choice. She lowered her eyes and nodded in defeat, clenching her fists, until Phasma ordered the soldier to give her Raira with a swift movement of her head. 

The little Pantoran broke out crying as soon as she found herself in Rey’s arms. She nuzzled her little head in the crook of the young woman’s neck, dampening her skin with her tears. 

The guests followed the general towards the shuttle, the soldiers still holding their blasters to discourage them from attempting to escape.

Rey walked in a daze, her eyes lost in the void as she brushed her hands against Raira’s quivering back in an attempt to bring her some comfort. She snapped her head to look at Riyo and saw the old woman walking beside her, her features drawn into a worried expression. Still, she looked as dignified as ever. When she met Rey’s gaze, she even smiled at her in a reassuring way, as if the young woman was the one who needed comforting.

___________________________________

Rey burst into Hux’s office like a tempest. The palace was in turmoil and it was a miracle she found him here, in the middle of a reunion with his subordinates. 

As soon as he saw her, he rolled his eyes in annoyance. 

“Where is he?” she asked him, not bothering with civility.

“Lady Rey, how may I help you?” he replied sarcastically. 

Everyone stepped back to give her space as she walked towards the general. 

“Where is he?” she mouthed through clenched teeth as if he didn’t hear her the first time. 

“You mean The Emperor.  

\- Of course, I mean The Emperor! I have to see him.

\- I am afraid I cannot help you.

\- You don’t know where he is?

\- No.

\- Why does no one seem to know where he is?”

Hux snorted. Rey sensed his twisted amusement at her apparent turmoil.   

“ _Lady_ Rey, a lot happened while you were away enjoying yourself at Varykino. We are in a situation of crisis.

\- I have to talk to him! Tell me where he is!”

Rey’s voice echoed in the room and the officers held their breath, dreading Hux’s reaction. Never before have they heard someone speak to him this way. 

The general scrunched up his nose, the irritation pouring out of him almost tangible.

“Let me explain something to you, Lady Rey. You are in no position to demand anything! You are lucky The Emperor didn’t get you arrested after the way you behaved in Varykino”.

Hux towered above her, his lips trembling as he tried to contain a sadistic smile. He clearly thought he was intimidating, but Rey only felt contempt towards him. Part of her wanted to tell him just exactly what she thought of him in front of his men. She saw him as he really was, a weak and pathetic man, so very predictable in his cruelty. 

“Tell him I need to talk to him”, she replied coolly instead.  

Hux and his subordinates watched her as she made her way towards the door. She was burning inside, but she managed to keep a measured pace and her head held high, in the same way Riyo Chuchi did while she was being arrested. 

__________________________________

Back in her quarters, Rey was unable to contain her agitation. She couldn’t eat, she couldn’t rest, she could barely stand still, pacing around the room while her servants tried to offer her some kind of comfort. 

Sana went hunting down for information around the palace, but when she came back, she only had a meager game to share: 

“The Pantorans are detained in their room, since this morning. Guards are posted at their door to prevent anyone from coming out or in”, she revealed to her mistress and fellow handmaidens.  

“What about The Emperor?” Rey asked but Sana shook her head in defeat. 

She tested the bound again, but he had shut himself completely from her. She couldn’t even sense his presence in the palace. 

She felt powerless, her stomach aching painfully, her heart beating violently against her ribs. Her mind was in turmoil as she tried to figure out a way to help Riyo and her granddaughter Raira.  

There were no tears to shade, though, no time to waste in sorrow. Her handmaidens watched her as she grabbed a coat and left the room. She reached the gardens from where she could see the windows of Kylo Ren’s apartments. She searched for his silhouette behind the panes but could see nothing. It was nearly dusk and there were no lights inside. 

She had half a heart to climb the facade and smash a window to get in and wait for him there. It was in her nature to seek action instead of waiting, but she knew that it wasn’t the right time to be reckless. She was wise enough to know that any misstep on her behalf would worsen the Pantoran situation.

Rey took a deep breath to calm herself down. She closed her eyes and searched for that place in her mind that was unaffected by her emotions. She allowed the air to fill her chest, in the same way she did this morning before everything went wrong. It helped her anchor herself to the moment and offered her some respite. 

The window leading to the Pantorans’ room was guarded, as she came to discover. The two soldiers standing outside turned around to face her as if they suspected she might try to help the prisoners escape and she had to continue on her way without a word. 

She came back to the Queen’s quarters. When she came in, she was startled to find Kylo Ren waiting for her. She didn’t sense his presence at all. He was accompanied by a short man in a mask who kept scrutinizing her like a watchdog. Her three handmaidens were standing in the living room with them, visibly terrified. They lifted their heads when they saw her appear and she read in their eyes a warning.   

“Kylo”, she breathed in relief, but he kept an impassive air. “Where were you? Why were you avoiding me?” 

He avoided her gaze, further confirming his discontent. She tried to approach him and his _bodyguard_  stood in her way. She looked at him with a mix of shock and indignation. 

“What is going on?” she asked Kylo Ren, commanding to be acknowledged and he could no longer avert his eyes. 

They stared at each other, both panting loudly, their jaws clenched as if they were preparing for battle like they used to during the war. A subtle but frightening tension filled the air and when the emperor spoke, it startled Rey’s handmaidens who gasped in unison: 

“Leave us!” 

He kept his eyes fixed on Rey, even when his knight tried to protest: 

“My Lord is it wise…

\- I said LEAVE!”

The Knight of Ren, who Rey identified as such thanks to his attire and the checkerboard patterned mask he was donning, turned his head to look at her. She could feel his gaze burning through her as he slowly withdrew from the room, followed by her servants. They seemed hesitant to leave her alone with Kylo Ren, but the confident smile she offered them prompted them to do as they were told. 

When the door shut, Rey brought her attention back to the emperor: 

“What is happening?” she reiterated. 

“You mean you don’t know? Didn’t your little spies tell you already?” he snorted, quirking his eyebrow in an attempt of sarcasm, but at the way his nostrils flared and his lips quivered, she could clearly see that he was boiling inside. 

“Kylo, tell me what is going on!” she yelled.

She had no patience left in her, no tolerance for his games. For a moment, she nearly forgot what was at stake, and only the memory of Raira crying and twitching between the stormtrooper’s arms forced her to temper her rage. 

Kylo Ren seemed however increasingly agitated. He turned his back to Rey, running a hand through his hair. 

“What do you think is happening, Rey?

\- Kylo, you mustn’t direct your anger against the Pantorans!”

The scream that came out of him was blood-curdling. He grabbed a chair and threw it violently against the wall, but Rey didn’t flinch. She gave him a stern look as he faced her, hunching his shoulders and gasping for air like a raging beast.  

“How can you defend them? Don’t you know what they have done? They have been plotting against me. They have been helping The Resistance to destroy me!

\- No! You are wrong! Kylo, they are not the ones who organized the attack, please!”

Rey pleaded desperately when Kylo Ren’s expression changed as he suddenly realized: 

“Did you know?

\- What?

\- The Resistance! You knew that they have survived!”

Rey’s mouth felt terribly dry as she tried to gulp down a sob of horror. Before she could react, he was on her. He grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her violently: 

“You Knew!

\- Stop it! Let me go!

\- How could you? You knew they were trying to kill me!

\- I said let me go!”

Rey pushed him away using The Force and managed to free herself from his hold. She took a step backward and saw then the expression of utter hurt and betrayal in his face. 

“You betrayed me!

\- Why? Because I wanted to protect my friends? Did you think I would hand them over to you? Kylo, they have nothing to do with the attack!

\- Really? Why would I believe you, Rey? WHY? You have been lying to me. You don’t care about me. Even now, all you think of is to save your precious Resistance.

\- They are weak, defeated. They just want to survive. Please, Kylo, let them be.

\- Do you even hear yourself? The Resistance won’t rest until they have destroyed me! Do you care so little about me?

\- Stop it! I care. I care! I love you.

\- NO! No, don’t say it!

\- It is the truth!”

Kylo Ren moved swiftly and clenched Rey’s wrist, pulling her against him. She twitched desperately and turned her face away and he snorted: 

“Look at you! You can’t even look me in the face”. 

In reaction to his words, she stopped struggling and turned her face to look straight into his eyes: 

“I love you, Kylo. I care for you.  

\- You love them more than me!

\- They are innocent. Why can’t you leave them be?

\- You are blind! They don’t deserve your love. I will set you free. I will destroy them!

\- No! I will prove it to you that they are innocent. Please! Please let me prove it to you”.

Rey placed her trembling hands against his eyes and poured her soft gaze into his eyes. She knew by now that her lover’s anger only concealed his sadness and fear. 

“Please”, she whispered, placing her forehead against his. 

Their noses pumped against each other and for the briefest moment, the boiling rage that scalded his insides seemed to subside. 

“Rey”, he breathed and hope ignited inside her heart. “I won’t let them take you away from me”. 

She was rattled by his words. She tried to push him away, but he tightened his hold around her waist and tried to kiss her lips. When she cried in distress, his eyes grew cold. 

“You will see, one day, that I am right.

\- I will never forgive you if you do something to them. I will never forgive you!”

They stared at each other in silence. Something was broken, that trust they have slowly built and that was so fragile and precious to begin with. 

Part of them wanted to ask for forgiveness, to hold and kiss the other and soothe the pain they were obviously experiencing, to just forget there was a world around them, but they couldn’t. There was a world outside this room, a galaxy which destiny they carried on their shoulders. 

“So be it”, Kylo Ren concluded before heading for the door and leaving Rey to fall down on her knees with a wretched cry. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that wasn't too sad, but here is the thing, I love writing about suffering! I love writing about conflict and struggle and pain and passion and I know that says a lot about me! 
> 
> My favorite authors are Kafka, Buzzati, Ishiguro, James, Baudelaire, Poe, Lovecraft (I also love Borges, but for different reasons)! They are excellent at describing pain and regret, each in their own way, but there is also always a spark of hope that comes out of their writing. I love reading their works because of their beautiful prose, of course, but mostly because they are so good at sublimating suffering and thus give meaning to the human condition. 
> 
> Sorry, I got carried away talking about literature. What I am saying is that there is always hope. Isn't it one of the recurring themes in Star Wars? There is still hope even though Rey and Kylo Ren are facing a dire situation. 
> 
> Thank you for your comments, your kudos, and bookmarks. Your support is the only thing that encourages me to continue writing. Like many fanfiction writers, I go through periods of self-doubt and discouragement, but I have received so many wonderful comments here and on Tumblr, that gave me hope and prompted me to keep on going with my stories. Some of my fics don't get a lot of attention, but I have learned to appreciate every single gesture from my readers. 
> 
> So thank you, my friends! Thank you very much! You are to me what The Resistance is to Rey.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren reconsiders his behavior towards Rey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been so long! I am sorry for the wait. 
> 
> Here is a long chapter. 
> 
> Warning for light (very light) bloodplay.

Kylo Ren could feel Rey’s distress and he suspected that she was sensing his too. He could almost see her pacing in her bedroom, angrily wiping the unwelcome tears that fell over her reddened face.  

“I will never forgive you!”

Her words were impregnated in his mind like a light marked the eye when someone stared too long at the sun, and he kept recalling them like a sort of a self-inflicted torment.

He was barely aware of the commotion around him. The war rooms were in turmoil, full of officers and advisers who barked at each other to impose their opinions as to the best strategy to invade Pantora until their voices mingled into an indecipherable pother.

Kylo Ren considered them with an absent stare. All their faces seemed oddly unrecognizable, and he nearly jolted when his gaze settled upon a familiar set of eyes staring back at him with. 

Without a word of explanation, he left his seat and headed for the exit, ignoring his officers’ disconcerted expressions. Some of them were probably addressing him without him realizing, but he could no longer endure the suffocating atmosphere of the war rooms. 

As he reached the corridor, he noticed that someone had followed him. He turned his head around and saw that it was Io Ren, as he had expected. She studied him in silence, a frown on her face and her eyes asking him an implicit question. He chose to ignore it but nonetheless allowed her to follow him as he made his way to the throne room. It was the only part of the palace he was sure was empty, apart maybe from his private chambers. 

It was dark when he came in, and eerily quiet. He could hear the cold wind whistling outside a haunting melody and the dim light of the dusk gave the throne standing in the middle of the room an almost menacing aspect. Kylo Ren took a deep breath before declaring:  

“I hate this place”. 

He wasn’t sure why he said it, or if it was actually true, but at that moment, he was feeling unbearably oppressed by his situation, by the whole masquerade taking place around him. 

“Where would you rather be?” Io Ren asked him and the softness of her voice was more aggravating than soothing to him.

She was standing behind him and he refused to face her, as though he could not stand to look at her.

“I don’t think there is a place for me elsewhere. I don’t really have the choice”, he simply stated.

There was a long silence only distributed  by the song of the wind and the sound of their breathing, then Kylo Ren finally pronounced the question that had been hanging between them for days:

“Why did you do it?” 

She did not answer, although he knew that she understood perfectly that he was referring to Senator Sooro’s unexpected confession. He turned around and in the dim light, he recognized her proud stature, that defiance she displayed in the way she held her neck.

“I had no choice”, she replied calmly, imitating his earlier statement.

“No choice?”, he hissed and the echo of his words lingered menacingly between them.

“I had to make you react”, she elaborated. “You were hesitating. The war has to start”.

A growl came out from his lips like a thunder tearing the sky.

“You don’t get to decide when the war starts! I am the emperor! I decided!

\- I only did it to help you.

\- Help me?” he laughed in derision but it made him sound demented. “You have betrayed me!

\- That wasn’t my intention.

\- You went behind my BACK and made the senator reveal that the Resistance had survived! You destroyed everything we had been working for months! I thought… I thought you were on my side”.

He cringed at how needy he sounded. It was at that moment that the feeling of betrayal took full scale. But in his turmoil, he no longer knew if his anger was addressed at Io Ren or at Rey.   

“I am! There were rumors running around the galaxy that the Resistance was still alive. We couldn’t have kept it secret for long before your enemies would have started questioning your authority. You have to get rid of the Resistance before it is too late!”

He looked flustered, completely overwhelmed by her statement, although he was perfectly aware of what she just revealed. He did not know how to react.

“Kylo”, she called his name, for the first time since he had become emperor, imposing an intimacy he guessed wasn’t innocent. She took a few careful steps towards him and there was an added softness to the way she addressed him:

“I sense your confusion. You desire two things that are incompatible. But you cannot make peace prevail in the galaxy if you don’t make choices that will disappoint Rey”. 

As soon as his lover’s name crossed Io Ren’s lips, Kylo Ren was on her. He grabbed her chin painfully and brought her face towards his, their noses nearly touching. She tried to escape his hold, but he was too strong and he sensed that she wasn’t giving it her all. Part of him knew that he must control himself, that this is somehow a trap, but the mention of Rey unleashed his fury. 

Io stared into the mask of anger that covered his face. His pupils were dilated, his lips quivering menacingly and his muscles were trembling, taunt like a bow while he hissed through clenched teeth:

“Don’t bring her into this!” 

She couldn’t react fast enough and reach for her saber before he seized her wrist and forced it above her head. 

“You think you know me? You think you know what I want? You have no idea, Io”, he shouted. 

“She is loyal to The Resistance. She’ll always be. If you eliminate The Resistance, she will have no choice but to remain with you”. 

It was a bold strategy to resort to his insecurities regarding Rey, but the way he deflated proved that she had aimed right. 

Kylo Ren gasped quietly, but not in reaction to Io Ren’s words. The first rays of light allowed him to better distinguish her futures and he couldn’t help but feel shocked by the absolute absence of emotions on her face. Her calm was unnatural and irreconcilable the inflections of her voice. Until now, she had been so convincing and it made him think of an actor performing an act or a machine trying to mimic a sentient being.    

Suddenly, the whole discussion appeared to him like a farce, a rehearsed play where he was a character whose lines were as expected as inconsequential. 

Slowly, he releases his hold on her wrist and her chin and she was able to breathe normally again. He could not find any trace of fear or anger in her gaze and he had the horrible thought that she had been prepared for his outburst too. She just considered him with that cold half-smile that no one could ever definitely identify as compassionate or derisive. 

“You could have told me”, he added tonelessly as if he was supposed to say these words for the scene to carry on. 

“Would you have listened?”

Kylo Ren was aware of Io Ren’s manipulative skills. Back when they used to train together under Snoke, he studied her fighting techniques and came to realize that her strength resided in her ability to deceive her opponents, to mislead them into a false sense of superiority until she was able to strike a decisive blow. But in his pride, he always thought that he could counter her strategies and knew how to handle her. 

Now, he looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. He knew for so long but somehow her mysterious nature always eluded his comprehension. He never fully understood her motivations and why she had accepted him as a leader of the Knights of Ren when she was older and more experienced than him. She had been shaken by the death of their master, but when Kylo Ren became emperor, she was the first one among the knights to plead allegiance to him. It brought him much relief, then, to know that he could count on her as an ally. But now, he was starting to doubt all his certainties.  

He ran his hand over his face as if to chase the memory of a nightmare, then headed for the exit, passing Io Ren by without a word. 

His ears rang, echoing the sound of his blood pumping furiously in his veins as he strode through the corridors. Sleep-deprivation clouded his mind and although he wouldn’t admit it, he was all but running away. In his panicked state, he questioned the loyalty of all his allies and collaborators. 

He was stopped in his tracks when he heard a strange sound, the voice of a little girl crying. He turned around, searching for its origin but there was no one. It seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. He placed his gloved hands on the wall and tried to concentrate and identify the source of the noise. He followed the almost imperceptible vibrations and they guided him until he arrived at the guests’ quarters.

There were two guards watching the door that led to the Pantorans’ room. They jolted when they saw him appear and offered him a stiff salute.  

“Don’t you hear that?” he asked them. but they just stared in confusion at him. 

Here, the sound of the little girl's cries was overwhelming, but Kylo Ren realized that he was the only one to hear it. He ordered the guards to let him and they immediately opened the door for him. 

When he came inside, he came face to face with Riyo Chuchi. She was holding her granddaughter, rocking her gently and shushing her while the little girl cried softly against her breasts. The old woman froze when she saw the emperor enter her room. 

Noticing her grandmother’s nervousness, Raira turned her little head and gasped in fear when she recognized him. She threw her arms around Riyo’s neck and he realized that she did it not because she sought protection but because she wanted to protect her grandmother from him. Kylo Ren couldn’t help it but feel affection for the blue-skinned child. Her bravery was as unexpected as it was touching. 

“Good morning, My Lord”, Riyo greeted him, her voice bearing no resentment. 

“Good morning”, he replied. 

They stared at each other in silence. She was expecting him to talk and perhaps explain why he was there, but he was out of words. 

“Would you like to sit down?” the old woman asked him calmly as if this was a courteous visit. 

“No, I… I heard the little girl cry.

\- You heard her?”, she asked in surprise.

There was no way that Raira’s soft yelps could have been heard from the outside, still, Riyo Chuchi apologized for her granddaughter:  

“Forgive her, My Lord. She is a bit upset”.  

How she managed to say these words without sounding a bit sarcastic was beyond his comprehension. The truth was that the Pantoran was as wise as she was graceful and Kylo Ren could only admire her for it. 

“I am sorry it had come to this”, the words came out of his mouth before he could properly ponder their meaning. 

He was startled by the ease with which he asked for his prisoner's forgiveness, but she was cordial enough not to remark on it. She just smiled in acknowledgment, then placed a tender kiss on her granddaughter’s forehead.

“Did you know that it would happen?” he eventually asked her a question he had been running through his mind for a long time. 

“What do you mean, My Lord?

\- When you were summoned here, to Naboo, you already knew that you have been discovered, that the empire knew that the Pantorans were hiding the Resistance fighters”.

Riyo Chuchi averted her gaze, but he inferred at the discrete smile that he had guessed right. 

“Did you know that you would end up a hostage? Is that why you brought your granddaughter with you? You knew that it was the only way to protect her from an eventual attack on your home planet”. 

Riyo Chuchi laughed a small laugh that betrayed her amusement at being thus exposed. 

“I have to defend those I love”, she said, smiling down at Raira. 

“Your son is still on Pantora! He will have to face my army when it gets there!

\- It was my son’s decision to stay and fight for what he believes in.

\- You can stop this! You could convince him to hand over the Resistance fighters. You can still save your people!

\- They  agreed to welcome the Resistance fighters in the first place. I can’t go against the will of my people.

\- Why? Why would they do that? Why can’t they understand that peace will never be achieved if the Resistance still exists?

\- My Lord, will you allow me to offer you an advice?”

Kylo Ren was taken aback by her suggestion, but he still nodded, curious to know what she had to say:  

“I have lived long enough to see two Republics and an Empire fall. Every leader, be it a democratically elected one or a tyrant, aims to eliminate his opposition. But all the battles, all the wars I have witnessed, here is what I came to understand: Opposition is not only unavoidable. It is vital! You will never be able to eradicate the Resistance, even if you kill every Resistance fighter there is left. It will live on, in the heart of the people, and the more repression there will be, the more their resolve will grow strong”. 

Kylo Ren fluttered his eyelids in bafflement. She said to him what no one in his entourage had ever dared to tell him and oddly enough, he felt no anger. He was surprised by his own reaction. Her words, as harsh as they sounded, were full of wisdom, and even if they had the potential to upset him, he welcomed them with the gravity they deserved. 

“You mean I should spare The Resistance.

\- A great leader knows when to be merciful… My Lord”.

He felt somehow… grateful and was rather impressed by her courage. He sensed there was no malice in her as if she held no rancor in her heart against him. 

“Lady Chuchi, I promise you I will do everything in my power to avoid harming your son and your people during the attack”.

She nodded slowly in appreciation, although he felt that she didn’t truly believe him. 

“Trust me”, he insisted, almost begged, and she rewarded him with an indulgent smile: 

“I trust you”. 

Little Raira moaned in discontent. She had been silent during her grandmother and the emperor’s exchange, but she was obviously been paying close attention. 

She turned her head to reveal her scowl and she glowered at Kylo Ren, reminding him yet again of the child he used to be. She was as shy as he was, but she also had that kind passion that burned inside that very few could suspect. He realized why Rey loved the little girl so much. 

He smirked back at Raira and it made her snort before burying her head in the crook of her grandmother’s neck. She was upset at him, but at least, she wasn’t crying anymore.

When he left the Pantoran’s room, the young emperor’s shoulders felt inexplicably lighter. He contemplated his situation with a clarity he seldom achieved. For a moment there, he had been able to be the wise and forgiving ruler he longed to be. 

Deprived of the veil of anger and jealousy that had blurred his judgment when he last met Rey, he was able to perceive his own behavior towards her as fully absurd. She had nothing to do with the resurgence of the Resistance, and yet he punished her just for being faithful to those she loved, for being compassionate. Without it, she could have never been able to see beyond his brutal and cruel surface. 

He decided to go to her. He wanted to explain to her why he had to attack Pantora, to convince her that he had no choice. He wanted… he wanted to ask for her forgiveness. He didn’t want to ruin the most precious thing he had. He didn’t want to lose her.  

Kylo Ren all but rushed to get to Rey’s quarters, but on his way he was met with a sight he never could have expected. 

First, when he heard the commotion, he thought it was the same kind of auditory illusion he experienced earlier when he heard Raira crying. However, he noticed a guard running at the end of the corridor in panic and as he hurried to join him, he reached a hall where two characters seemed to be fighting fiercely. 

He immediately recognized them. Rey was pointing a knife menacingly at Fouros Ren as he held one of her handmaidens by the throat. He moved in a circle around her and she spun to follow him as the guards gathered around them. 

“Fouros! Rey!” the emperor screamed and the opponents snapped their heads to look at him. 

Rey was the first one to bring her attention back to her handmaiden and the man who was choking her as if Kylo Ren’s presence had no importance. He noticed that she was dressed up like a servant. 

Fouros acknowledged him and provided an explanation: 

 “She was trying to escape!” 

Rey addressed a quick worried look to the emperor from the corner of her eye, but still kept the blade, a simple kitchen knife by the looks of it, pointed at the Knight of Ren. 

“Let her go!”, Kylo Ren ordered his knight. 

“But…

\- I said, let her go”.

Fouros Ren all but threw the handmaiden away from him and she would have tripped if Rey didn’t rush in her direction to catch her and help her stand on her feet. 

“Are you okay?”, she asked her softly while pushing the hair strands that had fallen over her flushed face. The young servant nodded, but she was visibly shaken. 

Rey gasped when she felt Kylo Ren grab her forearm. She gazed up at him, her lips trembling with outrage and fury burning in her eyes. 

“You!” he interpellated one of the guards. “Escort Lady Rey’s handmaiden back to the Queen’s rooms”. 

Then he addressed Rey: 

“You, come with me.

\- No!”

With an abrupt movement of her arm, she managed to free herself from his hold. He didn’t try to catch her again. Instead, he stared at her silently for a long moment, then turned his back to her. It only took a few seconds for her to start following him as he headed for his chambers. 

She walked behind him in silence and he ignored her all the way through. He didn’t turn once to look at her. The guards let them in and Kylo Ren waited until the door was closed to finally face her and speak: 

“Care to explain what happened?” 

Rey snapped her head up, destabilized by the softness of his tone, then lowered it again and he understood that she was avoiding his gaze as a way to defy him. He noticed that she was still holding the knife in her hand. 

“Why were you fighting with Fouros Ren?” 

She kept her eyes fixated on the floor, the air crackling with a tension between them as they stood at a few feet from each other in the vestibule. 

She refused to answer and Kylo Ren sensed that Rey would persist in her reticence, that she would divert all his questions, but he needed to hear the words she was holding back. He wanted to give her the opportunity to fully express her revolt.  

“Why are you dressed up like that?

\- I am but a servant to you, am I not?

\- A servant?

\- I have to obey you. I don’t have the right to contradict you, or question any of your decisions”.

Rey’s ears took on a darker shade of red and her nostrils flared hotly as she spat her words at his face, but instead of offending him, they brought him relief. Her anger was better than to have her lock herself away from him. 

“Fouros was wrong, wasn’t he? You weren’t trying to escape.

\- How can you be so sure?

\- You have promised me not to escape”.  

He said it as though it was obvious and she knitted her eyebrows in reaction, his unexpected cool and detached attitude clearly confusing her, before suddenly bursting.   

“You talk about promises? ” she exclaimed in outrage.  “How many times did you promise that you would listen to me, that you would trust me?

\- Rey…

\- You are unable to trust anyone. You are unable to love. You are cruel and selfish! You are a liar!”

Rey looked more shocked by what came out of her own mouth than Kylo Ren. She seemed ashamed by her outburst and he couldn’t determine if she regretted the harshness of her words or her own loss of temper. 

When Kylo Ren walked towards her, a mysterious smile playing at the corners of his lips, she gasped and brought her knife in front of her in a defensive posture: 

“Don’t!” 

He ignored her warning and swiftly grasped the wrist of her armed hand. Their arms trembled as they fought for control and her eyes widened in horror when she realized that he was forcing her hand towards his throat. 

“No”, she yelped but his smile took on a devilish aspect as the knife made its way between his clavicles. 

Rey struggled desperately to avert the trajectory of the blade but it soon tore her lover’s skin and dived into his flesh. 

“Why don’t you kill me if you hate me so much? Isn’t it why you came here in the first place?” he laughed at her apparent disarray. 

She screamed when the blood started pouring from the cut. Only when she resorted to using the Force was she able to stop the blade by breaking it in two. The bloody piece of metal fell loudly over the floor and Rey instinctively threw the handle to cover Kylo Ren’s wound with her palm. 

“You didn’t use to mind hurting me before.

\- Shut up!”

Dark blood seeped between Rey’s fingers as she desperately tried to stop the flow. Her hands were soon covered in red and she whined in panic when she realized that her efforts were futile. 

“Stop”, he said softly. 

He didn’t mind being hurt. The pain to have been separated from her had been greater than the one caused by the wound. He looked down at her and he saw her indignation die out and be replaced with a deep sorrow. She scrunched up her face and heavy tears started pouring from her eyes. 

“Please, don’t start the war”, she murmured, despair breaking her voice. 

“I don’t have the choice.

\- You do! You always have the choice.

\- There is no other way.

\- You could spare them. You don’t have to kill them.

\- If I don’t eliminate the Resistance, my enemies will see it as a weakness. They will question my authority and chaos will reign again in the galaxy.

\- No, you are wrong! You are wrong!”

She sobbed and it was heartbreaking to see her so agitated, so hopeless. 

“My love”, he whispered in her ear as he delicately circled his arms around her and brought her closer to him. She surrendered to his embrace. There was no strength left in her to resist. 

Kylo Ren cradled Rey’s face and coaxed her to meet his eyes. There were dark circles under her eyes and he realized that sleep had eluded her as it did him. 

“Prove me wrong! Come with me to Pantora”, he whispered  

“What?

 - If you are there you could convince the Resistance fighters to surrender without a fight. They will be made prisoners, but they won’t perish”.

There was a mix of disbelief and hope in her eyes: 

“I don’t understand.

 - If you come with me, you could save them.

\- They will be made prisoners!

\- But they will survive”.

Rey worried at her lower lip and she seemed unsure if she had to rejoice or feel anxious at the prospect of accompanying him to Pantora. Her bloodied hands were stuck between them and she touched his chin with the tips of her stained fingers. He lowered his head slightly to kiss them.

“Isn’t that what you want?” he asked her, softly.

\- They won’t have to die.

\- I will make sure of it.

\- Why?

\- I don’t want to lose you.

\- Kylo…

\- I will do anything for you. I love you”.  

He carefully lowered his head until he could claim her mouth and at the first touch of their lips, they both jolted as though they have been hit by electricity. Like water falling from the sky to nourish the earth, the kiss brought their starving skins back to live.  

Rey tilted her head just so to better devour her lover’s lips and the kiss quickly evolved for tender and shy to fierce and desperate. They had been both denying themselves and they were finally able to quench a thirst that had been tormenting them for days. 

They started moaning as their tongues wrestled for dominance until Kylo Ren gracefully conceded his Rey the victory as a sign of good faith and she responded eagerly. She placed her hands on his face and brought him closer still as she ravenously explored his mouth and slid her tongue over his. 

They broke the kiss to breathe, panting and leaning their foreheads one against the other. Rey gulped and caressed his throat. It was covered with blood as were his chin and cheeks now, although his wound seemed to have stopped bleeding. She clasped Kylo Ren’s collar, pulling at it repeatedly, demanding him to remove it. 

With her blood-stained hands and her dilated pupils, she looked a bit mad, a bit savage and he thought that he probably looked like her, or even worse. His heart gave a throb when he saw her dart her little tongue and she licked his lips wantonly. 

“Reeey”, he growled, sounding more like a beast than a man. 

He tried to capture her mouth again, but she playfully turned her face away, a wicked smile appearing on her face. Although he laughed, he lacked the patience to play this game. He seized her nappe and forced her to meet his lips. 

There was silent desperation in the way they kissed. Their tongues danced to a choreography that told of the pain of their separation and the relief to be reunited at last. 

Their surroundings started spinning around them as their embrace grew more torrid. They lost track of time and space until they eventually arrived in Kylo Ren’s bedroom, unsure of how they got there. They fumbled to remove their garments, their eagerness rendering their fingers clumsy to the point of frustration. They agreed implicitly to both concentrate on removing his clothes first. 

They walked to the center of the floor-leveled bed, then fell on their knees. Kylo Ren watched Rey with adoring eyes and peppered her face with heated kisses as she struggled to undress him as quickly as she could. He lifted his arms so she could remove his top. When his skin was revealed to her, she roamed her hands over his stomach, her starved fingertips mapping the lines of his muscles. 

He stood up and she looked up at him expectantly while he removed his pants, her eyes managing to look at once innocent and impish. Her cheeks took on a brighter shade of red when his cock sprang free of its confines, already erect and flushed. 

He stood before her, naked, vulnerable and yet he felt liberated, freed from any pretense. Her gaze traveled up from his feet to his head, and he felt its touch like a caress. He palmed her cheek and she leaned in, languorously fluttering her eyelids while nuzzling his hand, a short moment of peace in their frenzy.  He stooped down and sat on his haunches, then circled her lean waist and coaxed her to sit in his lap. 

Rey was torn between the need to remove her own clothes and taste her lover’s flesh. She sucked his lips, she bit his shoulder and licked his throat, and her lips were soon covered in blood. They tasted bitter and a bit salty when he kissed them again, but it only aroused him. He attacked her neck, sucking savagely at her pulse point, enough to elicit a delicious squeak from her.

Their hands met and they both worked to undress her. As soon as the top of her dress fell around her hips, the lower part still hanging to her slender hips, Kylo Ren palmed her breasts and started fondling them, making her pant for air. She threw her head backward and he saw her silently mouth his name.  

“I missed you… so much!” he breathed and she clasped his wrists to push them closer to her mounds. 

“Tell me you missed me too”, he pleaded, but a deep moan came out of her throat as the only response. 

He replaced one of his hands with his mouth and she shivered at the feeling of his tongue against her sensitive skin. He lapped at her hardened tit and she arched her back to push it between his full lips. 

“Tell me”, he demanded again, scraping his teeth over her nipple. 

“I missed you!” the confession tumbled out of her mouth and she shook her head feverishly as he greedily sucked on her breast. 

She gasped when he squeezed her waist and lifted her up, as easily as if she didn’t weight a thing. He freed her from her dress and she worked to discard her undergarments before settling again between his legs. 

She seemed a bit confused about how he wanted to proceed and allowed him to guide her. They sat face to face and he placed her thighs around his hips. He scooped her little backside and slowly dragged her center towards his throbbing erection. It bumped against her wet folds and she had to reach between them to align it with her entrance. He pushed his thumb into her open mouth, pushing against her tongue and she bit it eagerly when he finally slipped his cock inside her. 

They sighed at the same time, sharing the same feeling of relief to be finally joined again. They kissed languidly, and at first, none dared to move, afraid to break the harmony of the moment until Rey took things in hand and started rotating her pelvis in small circles. 

“Rey, Rey”, he chanted, a little out of breath, at the rhythm of her swaying hips. 

She was being so voracious and impatient, scratching his back and attaching his skin with her teeth while impaling herself frantically over his shaft.  A loud menacing grumble slipped between Kylo Ren’s clenched teeth when he felt her clench her inner muscles around his girth. He started ramming inside her and they moaned at every thrust, their voices getting louder as his mouvements grew increasingly harder and more unforgiven. Her insides felt so warm and soft, quivering and stretching to welcome him as he pushed deeper, deeper and he feared he might not last for long.

Rey screamed, her face twisted with pleasure while he watched her, his eyes filled with adoration. Her sex pulsated hotly, closing around him and pushing him towards his climax. She tightened her embrace around his neck and looked into his eyes as he shot his essence into her womb. He couldn’t divert his gaze as if he were under a spell and she smiled down at him bashfully. 

He prompted her to kiss him one last time before they fell on their sides, their legs still tangled up. Kylo Ren delicately drawn the line of her curves with the tips of his fingers, marvelling at her beauty, but when his eyes settled upon her face, he saw that she was lost in thought. 

“My Love” he called her quietly, delicately caressing her brow. 

She didn’t reply. She instead drew herself closer to him, nestling her head under his chin. They held each other tightly until they peacefully drifted off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, dear readers! I can't believe I have finally finished this chapter! I have been working on it for two weeks (no exaggeration). I lost count of how many re-writes it went through until I figured I had to be done with it to move along with the plot. I just hope the result is not too bad. 
> 
> So, do you think that Rey will stand for her friends to be made prisoners? She is certainly not in a very comfortable position. 
> 
> I have been receiving a lot of kudos lately and I am completely thrilled! Thank you! Don't ever hesitate to leave a comment if you have a question or if you want to react to something. 
> 
> You can also contact me on Tumblr: lastmouseleft@tumblr.com


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